Turncoat
by Sandan1992
Summary: Tanai is one of Simba's most loyal and best fighters. When Zira reveals that she has one of his loved ones in her grasp, he's forced to join the Outlanders and deceive everyone in order to save his endangered friend.  Not rewritten, just re-posted  Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Tanai

*****Introductory Author's Note*****

**Hello everyone, and thanks for starting my next story. I won't blab a ton like I usually do for the introductions, but I would just like to thank Prince of Pride for his support in this. After all, it **_**was**_** a part in his story, "Prince of Destiny" that inspired this. But without further ado, I give you…"**_**Turncoat**__**."**_

**-Ben**

*******_**TURNCOAT**_*******

*****Chapter 1*****

*****Tanai*****

The sun was high over the African savannah when a nearly grown lion descended the path from Priderock's main cave to the grounds below. His light mane contrasted slightly with his darker body, a fur trait he cursed in the hot summer days. He envied the lionesses with their cool pale coats without the thick and stifling mane of a male. Though he couldn't complain too much; his mane had provided the extra neck protection he needed in some tight situations.

"Tanai!" came a call from around a large boulder.

He quickened his pace and circled the great stone to see the usual gathering of animals sitting in the shade of one of Priderock's many overhangs. Simba sat atop a stone and glanced at the younger lion.

"We were wondering when you were going to join us." He remarked, pretending to be annoyed.

"Sorry, Simba." Tanai bowed slightly out of respect. "No excuse."

Simba nodded again and gestured to an open spot. He knew that Tanai probably _did_ have a very _good_ excuse for being a couple minutes late, but he was just too self critical to share it.

Tanai accepted his gesture and sat between another lion and a cheetah. He looked at the other animals that ringed around the King. It seemed that everyone had come and that he was the final member of the unit to arrive. He felt bad, but he had been asked by one of the newer huntresses to help move a fresh kill. The young lioness didn't have the bodyweight to support the wildebeest she had caught, but Tanai knew that it was no excuse for punctuality. He was expected to me there by noon, and he wasn't. Hence, there was _no_ excuse.

"Alright, it's good to see you all again." began Simba. "First thing to discuss is last week's skirmish. Talia and Furo, you both did a great job at warning us of the outlanders, keep up the good work." He said towards a pair of leopards who nodded in appreciation. "However, we need to work on our reaction time. The outlanders got all the way to the waterhole before we intercepted them. Had anyone been out there they would have been at serious risk."

Tanai began to zone out as Simba recounted the events of the Skirmish. He was there, he already knew what happened, and in fact _he_ was the one who gave the analysis to Simba. He looked across the many faces of the listening animals, trying to judge their response.

Most of them were lionesses, the largest and most skilled fighters in the pride. Their numbers were closely followed by the males, mostly former rouges. Ever since Kopa had been killed, Simba had been building a solid defense to repel any further attacks on the Pridelands. He allowed in many of the well behaved rouges on the condition that they would protect the Pride when needed and not compete with the royal family for power. Also among the listeners were other predators including cheetahs, leopards, and even some hyenas. All lived in the Pridelands and viewed the current king with great respect and admiration. They didn't want their home to be ruined by the outlanders in the same way that Scar had during his reign.

Tanai realized he had been zoning out when he snapped back to focus on Simba. He hated when he did that; as the unit leader he needed to be paying attention at all times.

"Is there anything else that anyone wants to address?" Simba finished. The warriors looked around at each other, wondering if anyone was going to offer anything further, but no one did.

Simba nodded when it became clear that they were finished with the review. "All right then. Let's proceed to the training grounds."

The animals stood and followed the king out of the cool shade and across the hot plains towards a diverse bit of terrain not too far from Priderock.

"Tanai," Simba began, falling into step alongside the younger lion. "I meant to ask you how your leg was doing."

Tanai shrugged nonchalantly and looked down at his right leg. The wounds he had received in the skirmish had almost completely disappeared. "I'm fine; Rafiki's salves did their work well."

Simba remained skeptic. "Are you sure? If you don't think you should spar today then you don't have to."

Tanai chuckled. "I'm going to spar whether you like it or not, Simba."

The king frowned. "Fine, but be careful. I don't want you to be injured when the outlanders come back."

Tanai smiled. "Can I take my guys now?"

"Yes, go ahead."

"Okay team two, circle up over here!" he called to the group as they neared the training ground. Once the members had gathered around him he continued. "We're going to start on the agility drills, move to an endurance run, and then once we're good and exhausted we'll finish with sparring."

The team didn't protest verbally, but he could see it in their eyes that they were _not _pleased with the iterary. Tanai just smiled and led them to the start of the agility course and set them off in groups of three to traverse the fifty-yard obstacle course.

Tanai worked himself into the drills to make sure he got the same amount of exercise as the warriors he was leading. He crossed over logs and around boulders. Up trees, over trenches, and through bushes.

After a several runs of the drill, they moved onto the endurance run as promised. They went around the hot savannah at a fast pace for a while before ending back at the training grounds where Simba was finishing his sparring matches with his team.

"Well you guys lucked out." Tanai said once he caught his breath. "We've got a minute or so before we'll spar."

He looked around at his exhausted team to see expressions of pure relief. Many of the warriors had never trained like this before they joined the unit, and they had to play a bit of catch-up. Tanai, on the other hand, had been doing the drills and exercises ever since he had been taken in by the pride when he was a young cub. He shook his head at the memory; it wasn't something he wanted to revisit.

"We're all set over here." Simba called as he led the first team over to the agility course.

"Thanks," Tanai responded before turning to his team. The division into teams wasn't based on anything other than the need to make training simpler. "Let's go, match up!"

He watched as lions found other lions and cheetahs found other cheetahs. The first match was to be an even match up, as always.

"Tanai?" asked a large lion.

"Yes, Hanta?"

"I would like to challenge you." He said in faked formality.

Tanai chuckled and followed him to an open slot of grass. He assumed the stance Simba had taught him so long ago. Hanta did the same and the two started to circle each other.

Hanta lunged first at Tanai's throat, but fell short when the unit leader pulled back onto his hind legs. From the unusual standing position, Tanai leapt over the over-extended lion and landed on his opposite side. Hanta swung at him, but the paw fell onto open air when he sharply pivoted around his back leg. The spin made Tanai a bit dizzy, but put him in n ideal position next to Hanta's back leg. In a single motion he swept his paw upwards, tripping the larger lion onto his back and pressing into his shoulders for a pin.

"Gotcha." He said through slightly heavy breathing.

Hanta smiled. "I liked it better when you were half my size and I could throw you around like a ragdoll.

Tanai laughed and helped his friend up. "You taught me well."

"And the student has surpassed the master... well I guess it happened a while ago."

"Almost a year."

"What? Has it really been that long?"

Tanai nodded. "I was _very_ proud of myself the day I pinned you for the first time. I remember the day."

Hanta looked at the closest sparring match. "Look at Kala go." He said, clearly impressed. "She only just started training a couple weeks ago and she's really getting the hang of it."

Tanai watched the young lioness carefully. "She's got a good stance, it's well balanced." He cringed as she was slammed to the ground by her opponent and pinned.

He walked over to her and smiled. "Well how did that feel?"

Kala blinked up at him, still a bit dizzy from the blow. "Not too great…" she admitted.

"Well you're doing well in any case."

"Thanks… I'm going to go sit down I think…" she said in a dazed tone.

Tanai turned to see Hanta chuckling. "What?" he asked.

"Just her." Replied. "She reminds me of you."

"How so?" Tanai asked warily. He wasn't quite sure if he was going to like the answer.

"Remember the first skirmish you got into with the outlanders?"

"NO!" he replied to the smirking lion, instantly remembering the event. "Don't bring that up again."

"You got _destroyed_ by that guy!"

"I know… I was there." He replied darkly.

"Don't act all defensive about it, you're one of the best, if not _the_ best fighter we have now. You could take that guy no problem now. Hell, you're even good enough to be _my _superior."

Tanai rolled his eyes. "Don't go talking about my rank again, I still think of you as _my _superior."

"You shouldn't." Hanta countered adamantly. "Simba made you the leader of this unit for a reason."

"And what reason would that be?"

"That you're a good leader and that he trusts you to make the right descisions."

"Well thank you, but like I said, I still look up to you."

Hanta shook his head as he walked away to find a new opponent. "You think you're looking up, Tanai, but you're really looking down. You surpassed me a long time ago."

Tanai watched him leave. Maybe Hanta thought he was good enough, but Tanai didn't. He had a long ways to go before he would consider himself to be even close to being a good enough leader, warrior, and person in general.

The afternoon progressed as expected and soon the teams had finished their exercises. After they met back together for some closing remarks, the animals went their seperate ways. The lions went off into Priderock and the others went off to their own families. Tanai was about to head back to the main cave when Simba cut him off.

"Tanai." he said rather seriously.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember the conversation we had before we started the training?"

Tanai thought back to the talk. "Um… that I need to be careful?"

Simba nodded and gestured to his leg.

The younger lion looked down at his leg to see a moderate amount of dried blood that had flowed from his healing wound. "Oh… _that. _ I, uh… no excuse."

Simba laughed. "I'll take that to mean that you just wanted to spar."

Tanai smiled. "Yea, I guess."

Simba shook his head. "I know that you love the danger of it all, but please Tanai, be more careful."

"I know, I know." Tanai muttered. "The Outlanders are going to attack one day and I'll be too injured to-."

Simba cut him off. "No, Tanai. I mean in general; on and off the battlefield. I don't want you to get hurt; and I mean that as a friend, not your commander."

Tanai smiled at the gesture, it was rare for the king to show such affection to a non-family member. Then again, Tanai practically _was_ family. When he had been taken in as a cub Simba acted almost like a father to him. "Thanks Simba. I'll try to be more careful."

The king seemed lost in thought. "You know, Tanai… I don't think I tell you this enough, but I'm very proud of you."

Tanai continued to smile. "Thanks."

Simba was silent for a moment. "Your father would be proud as well."

"He left me." He replied neutrally. It wasn't a touchy subject for Tanai, he just didn't like it when people tried to sugarcoat his father's actions.

"He cared about you." Simba countered. "He wanted to make sure that you were safe, even if he wasn't."

The younger lion nodded. "We still don't know what he was running from. It could have just as easily been a lie to get someone to take me."

"Don't discount your father like that." Simba said sternly. "If you could have seen him the night he brought you to us, you wouldn't be so quick to think like that. He really did care about you."

Tanai sighed. "I know… It's just…"

Simba nodded. "I know it's difficult, but you can't blame him. There was something outside of his control and he did what any parent would do, make sure that their cub was safe."

Tanai knew Simba was right, and truthfully he didn't feel anything towards his father but regret. He regretted not being able to remember much of him, and not being able to know him. He felt regret, but little anger. It wasn't the memory of his father that bothered him so much, but the memory of being young. His father wasn't the only one who was taken from him.

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The stars shone brilliantly in the African sky, more brightly than usual. It was the dry season which meant that there was less humidity and haze to cloud the celestial bodies. Tanai loved this time of year for exactly that reason; the bright night allowed him to see easily at night. He sat atop a large boulder overlooking the waterhole. The moon's light shone on him from both the sky and from its reflection in the glassy water.

He came to this spot often, preferably alone. He didn't consider himself to have had a difficult or unfair childhood, but it definitely hadn't been easy and Simba's mention of his father only brought back other painful memories of a lost childhood friend. Footsteps at the base of the large stone made him look down.

"Hey." Called the lioness on the ground.

"Hey." He replied back to her.

"Mind if I come up there?"

Tanai shrugged. Usually he liked to be alone, but this _was_ the princess. "Not at all."

Kiara climbed the stone side easily and sat beside him. She was silent for a while before speaking. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

"Are you thinking about _him_?"

"Who do you mean?"

"You know who I mean."

Tanai smiled, he _did_ know who she meant. "You know me too well, and yes, I am. It's almost the anniversary."

"I know there's not much I can say to make you feel better, but I _am _here for you."

"Thanks Kiara. I just wish things could have been different… I wish I was strong enough to-"

"Kopa's death was _not_ your fault, Tanai. You need to accept that."

Tanai sighed and looked at her. She was right of course; he had been just cub when Zira killed the prince, a relatively new member to the Pride and no more able to defend his friend than Kopa was himself. "I know… It's just wrong. He was my _best_ friend."

"I know." She said quietly, resting her head on his shoulder.

Tanai smiled at her gesture. He knew that she liked him, and the feeling was mutual. But they had decided a while ago that it wasn't a good time. Tanai was extremely busy with dealing with the outlanders and Kiara was learning from her mother how to be a good ruler. Besides, they were young and had all the time in the world. There was no need to complicate things now.

He rested his head on top of hers. Even if they weren't officially "together", it still felt good to share the beauty of the night with her.

*****Author's Note*****

**Here's the first chapter and I hope you liked it. Not much actually happened except an introduction to the characters, but it's the _exposition _as I learned in English class. Tell me what you think of the characters, the plot and all that stuff; I really want to know what you think.**

**-Ben  
**


	2. Chapter 2: Responsibilities of Battle

*****Chapter 2*****

*****Responsibilities of Battle*****

_"HELP ME!" Kopa cried out to anyone who could._

_ Tanai struggled against the lioness that effortlessly kept him down with an occasional swat of her paw. "KOPA!" he yelled for his friend. "I'M COMING KOPA!"_

_ The lioness just snickered at his attempts to maneuver around her and kept looking over her shoulder to see the event going on behind her. Zira's actions proved to be more interesting to the lioness than him and she eventually grew bored with the cub. A sharp backhand sent Tanai backwards over his hind legs and fall, injured to the floor._

_ He lay there on the dusty ground, listening to his friend's screams pierce the night. He knew he needed to get up, he wanted to get up, but his body was frozen. Tanai tried to cry out to his best friend, in some hope to help, but his mouth was frozen shut. He could only lay there in silence as Kopa was murdered. Pained screams filled the air and penetrated Tanai's heart._

Tanai woke sharply from his nightmare in a cold sweat and looked about the cave at the sleeping pride. Everything was alright, it was a nightmare. He shook his head as he stood; he hadn't had a dream like that in a long time, it bothered him that it happened again.

He stepped out into the cool morning air just in time to see the orange sun erupt from the horizon in a dazzling sunrise. The beauty of the view comforted the distraught warrior, but didn't take his mind off the nightmare. A run, he decided would clear his mind.

There were no training sessions planned for today, it was to be healing and resting day, but he just couldn't stop himself. After his long run, Tanai went and ran through the agility course a couple times before continuing on to his own combat drills. He couldn't afford to be poorly conditioned, he was the unit leader. If he was being outperformed by his followers, they would start to question his leadership and he didn't blame them; it was all part of the job. He knew that a good leader needs to be able to bear the heaviest load of the team without faltering and still be able to do his job flawlessly.

He returned from his run to find that the rest of the pride had awoken and were milling about outside. The hunting party was preparing to leave, and the cubs were feasting on the previous day's kill. He approached the carcass and had a small amount of meat. After helping a small cub strip a bit of flesh off the bone, he walked across the common area.

"Good morning sir." Greeted a group of lions from the unit.

Tanai nodded. "Good morning." He walked on, passing other warriors and receiving similar greetings. He didn't like being called _sir_, especially when the speaker was older than him, but it was all part of the job. As Simba had told him, being a unit leader is all about playing the part. You had to be the leader on _and _off the field otherwise you would be questioned and wouldn't be taken seriously.

Everywhere he went he was greeted by smiles and greetings, even by non- warriors. Tanai wasn't arrogant enough to think that everyone at Priderock loved him, but he knew that he was at least well liked. Even those who disliked his personality at least appreciated what he did for them. It was well known what he and the unit did, and what they put on the line in order to preserve the safety of the Pride.

In his unit though, it was different. Although there were conflicts and issues between them as there were in any group, there wasn't a single fighter under him that he wouldn't lay down his life for, and they felt the same way towards him. There were no secrets, no withheld presumptions, because any secret could translate to a moment's hesitation on the battlefield and ultimately someone's death. It was a unique bond of complete honesty and openness that was not found in many places.

"Tanai!"

He looked up to see Kiara trotting down a trail towards him. "Hey, Kiara. I'm bored, wanna do something?"

She sighed and smiled. "Well I can help you with the bored part, but I'm afraid I can't do it with you."

He groaned, knowing what she was about to say. "Okay… what's going on, and where do I need to go?"

"I don't know. My father just said that he needed you; he sounded a bit distressed."

Tanai could see that she was holding back. "What do you _think_ it is?"

She lowered her eyes. "I _think_ it's about the outlanders… and I think it's big."

Tanai's moderately amused expression fell sharply. "Where is he?"

"The peak." She watched him leave, but caught him before he left. "Tanai… Please be careful."

"This is what I do, Kiara."

"I know, but please… I always worry, and so does everyone else." She looked into his eyes. "Come home safe."

He nodded. "I promise." With that final goodbye, he ran off to find Simba.

"Tanai." The king acknowledged as he arrived at the peak of Priderock. "We have a problem."

"Outlanders?"

The king nodded. "Yes… a lot of them. They're launching from the eastern border and from what Zazu has seen, they're sticking to the lowlands."

Tanai nodded; he knew what was coming.

"I need you to assemble the unit and get out there as soon as you can."

"I'm on it." He stepped forward and let loose a deafening roar across the Pridelands, the signal for the unit to assemble. He was about to turn away, but Simba stopped him.

"This isn't going to be a minor skirmish, Tanai." He said gravely. "It's going to get nasty."

"I'll be careful."

"Good. I'll meet you out there."

Tanai turned and descended the trail to the lip of the great stone to see the unit in formation. Hanta stood in front of them, acting as temporary unit leader.

"We're ready sir." He said as he took his place in formation.

He nodded to the older lion and addressed the unit. "The outlanders are mounting a large attack from the eastern border. They're sticking to the lowlands and we have to go intercept them. This is going to get bloody, so be ready." He warned. "When we move, organize into your three fire teams at close intervals. Stick close together; I don't want anyone getting separated from the group, Understand?"

The unit roared in unison and Tanai nodded. "Okay, let's move out."

The unit took off at a fast pace to the east. They passed many of the non-warriors and drew many looks of concern. It was a concern that couldn't be helped because the nature of the job meant that some of them might not come home, be it one reason or another.

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When they approached the Outlander's position, they slowed to a careful pace. They did _not_ want to be surprised by the enemy. Simba trotted up to Tanai at the front of the unit.

"Any sign of them?" he whispered.

"Not yet, but I think they're right around here."

Simba scanned the foliage "But you haven't heard anything?"

"Nothing… _absolutely_ nothing. The birds left because of something."

The king nodded, but did not speak.

"Well? What are your orders?" Tanai asked.

Simba shook his head. "I just got here; you have a better idea of what is going on than I do. It's your call."

Tanai nodded somewhat sullenly. In a way he envied the lower ranked fighters; it was nice to be given an order and be expected to simply carry it out. However, as the one _giving_ the order he had both the pressure of performing well _and_ giving good orders. If he wasn't able to give a good order, they would be in a world of hurt.

Knowing well the pressures, Tanai turned back to the unit. "Hanta, take your team up onto the high ground and set up a defensive perimeter. Tujo take a few guys and check out the surroundings from that ridge. See what you can see. The rest of you spread out a little, but don't go too far."

He watched as his orders were carried out silently and efficiently. Once Tujo had reached the top of the ridge he signaled down that the way was clear ahead. Tanai looked over to see Hanta in position with his team on the high ground next to them. He motioned for the Tujo to rejoin the unit and moved them forward. They walked in absolute silence as they continued to search for the outlanders. Tanai knew from experience that they needed to stay as one solid group. Splitting up to search for a large enemy was never a good idea.

"CONTACT LEFT!" a lioness called, as a thin outlander lunged out from the tall grass with a vicious roar. She fell back to absorb the blow and struck back with a solid kick to the abdomen.

More outlanders lunged from the foliage to the unit's left and began their attack.

Tanai swore as their left flank became engaged with the ambush. "Hanta!" he called to the lion atop the high ground almost thirty yards away. "Stay there and set up a perimeter, we're going to fall back to you!"

Hanta nodded and began to organize his team.

Simba, understanding Tanai's plan began to pull back the fighters towards the high ground. Tanai joined him in relieving the fighters until it was only a handful left that was fighting the attack.

"Okay, everyone else!" Tanai ordered to the remainders. "Fall back to the high ground!"

As a group, the soldiers broke off their fights and ran to the high ground, followed closely by the Outlanders. They ran uphill past the first line of Pridelanders and caught their breath as the Outlanders ran headlong into the fresh defenders.

"Well that went well." Simba remarked to his unit leader.

Tanai nodded in agreement as he surveyed the battlefield. By falling back to the high ground they were forcing the Outlanders to fight uphill, a severe disadvantage. Once he was satisfied with their position on the hill, he ran to the battle line to join his troops. He leapt over a fallen Pridelander to meet his attacker head on before she could finish her kill. The two collided with a solid thud and began their fight.

The lioness swung out angrily at him, but Tanai dodged easily to the side. He kicked out her leg and slammed his paw into her exposed flank with enough force to knock her down. He was about to strike out again, but another lioness lunged in from the side, forcing him to roll away.

Tanai watched as the wounded lion he saved was pulled back behind the lines and replaced by a fresh warrior. Once he was sure of the wounded lion's safety, Tanai returned his attention to his attackers. He let out a fierce growl and swatted the first away. The next attacker struck out with his claws unsheathed, but was blocked by Tanai's forearm. He threw the lion's arm to the side and raked down with full force across the face, causing the lion to roar in pain. While he was distracted by the lines on his face, Tanai shoved him into an advancing lioness, sending them both sprawling.

He was about to lunge out when he realized he was getting a bit deep into the Outlanders' ranks. He pulled himself back to find himself alongside Simba.

"You doing alright?" the king asked as he beat a lioness away.

"Yea," Tanai nodded through slightly ragged breaths. "I'm doing just fine."

"No you aren't" Simba corrected. "You're exhausted. Go check on the wounded and catch your breath."

Tanai frowned and moved back to the rear of the unit. It was standard procedure, after all. When you get tired, it is expected that you move to the back to recover. He walked over to the wounded to see how they were doing.

"Hey Tanai!" called one lion with a torn open leg.

"What is it, Tujo?"

"There's this big tannish lion out there with a birthmark on his shoulder. If you see him, could you take him out for me?"

Tanai chuckled. "No problem. I'll keep my eyes open for him."

"Thanks… I'll stay here I guess." He replied darkly, clearly irritated at his injury.

"Well get better man, I'll go find your lion." He turned and headed back towards the front, he was recovered enough to fight again.

A reasonably sized rock jutted from the ground near the front lines, and Tanai climbed atop it to get a better view. He looked first to make sure the lines were holding and was pleased to see that the outlanders were beginning to crumble in several places. Then he began to scan for Tujo's tannish lion with a birthmark. He didn't find the lion, but something else _did_ catch his eye.

He blinked as he saw Kala, their newest recruit, struggling with several outlanders. She had gotten too far into the Outlanders' ranks and was at risk of getting cut off from the main group. Even worse was the fact that she seemed completely incapable of getting back. Her attackers pressed her mercilessly, forcing her to focus all her attention on _not dying_, let alone staying in formation.

Tanai growled to himself and leapt off his perch to help her. He navigated agilely through his unit to where Kala had fallen away.

"Follow me!" he called to a pair of nearby lions waiting for their opportunity to join the fray. They quickly fell into step behind him and followed him into the fight. He swatted away one attacker and then another as he plunged into the opposite side in an attempt to fight his way to the isolated lioness.

He reached Kala quickly, only to find her wounded and on the ground with lion poised over her ready to strike her down.

Tanai roared and threw himself at the lion, willingly taking the blow meant for Kala. He rolled to the ground and stood up, ignoring his bleeding shoulder.

"Get her out of here!" he ordered the two lions as he faced off with the tannish lion across from him. He noticed a dark birthmark on the lion's shoulder and smiled. "I was looking for you."

The tan lion growled and swiped out at the Pridelander, who ducked under the strike and came up under his chest. The lion blinked in surprise as Tanai bowled him over and ran on to meet his next attacker. He fought the outlanders in a fury as Kala was carried back to safety by the other two warriors. He moved quickly, moving from one attacker to the next with well timed sets of strikes, dodges, and blocks. He began to feel exhaustion set in and glanced back to see that Kala was nearly to safety. Only a little longer did he have until he could fall back to the ranks.

He turned back to see a paw flying towards his face. He couldn't dodge in time and was sent sprawling across the ground. He cursed his lack of focus and tried to shake off the dizzying blow. He stood and blocked an incoming attack, but another made it through his defenses and struck him square in the ribs. The pain made him shudder and his back leg collapsed to the ground, but he got up to resume the fight.

He looked back at the opening towards his ranks and safety, only to see it blocked by a trio of Outlanders. He swore and looked around at the lions and lionesses that surrounded him, not liking the smiles that they shared.

Tanai growled, _daring_ them to attack, and that's just what they did. They came at him from all directions and with all their effort. As soon as Tanai struck one attacker down, two more took their place. He was doing well, but he was tired. More and more strikes found their mark on his darker pelt and soon, Tanai was on the ground in pain.

"Go ahead." He dared the nearest outlander. "_Finish_ it!"

A large lion stepped in between his attackers and him. "Don't kill him." he said authoritatively. "Zira wants him alive."

Tanai swore as he was dragged away from the battle with the retreating Outlanders. The Pridelanders had won, but he wasn't too pleased about being taken prisoner. He cursed his ineptness and prayed that Kala had made it out okay. He had no regret about helping her; she was new, inexperienced, and ultimately his responsibility to keep safe. The only thing he wished he could have done differently was to have kept her in a less dangerous part of the fight. But it _was_ combat, and it was _all_ dangerous.

He was carried like an animal carcass over the hot savannah to the outlands. He was too tired to resist, and too injured to have made it far anyways. He stayed quiet and hoped that his fate wouldn't be too gruesome; Zira wasn't known for her kindness towards prisoners of war, especially not when the prisoner was a unit leader.

*****Author's Note*****

**Something I should say about this, do not read this with "TLK2" in mind. Aside from the characters, there is **_**nothing**_** to link it to this. This is its own, unique, and independent story that takes a completely different path than "TLK2."**

**With that said, I just thought that I would share with you that the battle tactics I described here were not just randomly pulled out of my imagination. I based the rotation system on the Roman Empire's method of rotating troops to allow them time to rest and recuperate. I threw in some modern terminology, because that's what I know. In addition, Tanai's leadership style is based on my Sergeant and how he taught me and my teammates to lead. Just thought that I'd share that with you in case you cared.**

**!REVIEW AND COMMENT!**

**-Ben**


	3. Chapter 3: Captured

*****Chapter 3*****

*****Captured*****

The hot sun beat down on the traveling pride with severe intensity as they left the shade of the Pridelands' trees and entered the Outlands. Tanai was vaguely aware of where he was, but the sun was killing him. Unable to move for fear of falling off the lion's back and from the pain of his injuries, he was forced to lie in the hot sun without relief. As they moved, he slipped in and out of consciousness.

He hazily noticed when he was brought into a hot, but dark cave. After a few moments he lifted his head from the sandy floor to see that aside from several guards farther outside, he had been left alone in the small cave. Tanai shook his head to clear his mind and tried to stand. As soon as he put weight on his hind leg, it collapsed back to the ground; he groaned as he looked back to see a nasty bruise forming on it.

He examined his injuries closely, and to his relief found few serious injuries. No broken bones or tremendously deep cuts, just a lot of deep bruises and moderate scratches that made it painful to move. He was about to count himself lucky, but then remembered that he was a prisoner. There was nothing _lucky_ about any of this.

Footsteps from the cave's entrance made him look sharply and instantly grimace from the pain. A pair of lionesses and one male approached him slowly. The smaller lioness and lion sat by the entrance while the larger lioness began to circle Tanai, analyzing him carefully.

Tanai stood and looked at the lioness in an attempt to identify her. As soon as he focused on her face, he knew. It was the face that plagued his nightmares and haunted his dreams. It was the first time he had seen her since Kopa's death.

"_Zira…_" he said quietly as she paced around him.

She finished her evaluation and sat next to the other two lions. "I hope that my soldiers didn't beat you _too_ harshly." She said through a grin. "After all, I wouldn't want to damage such an _important_ prisoner."

Tanai didn't like how she was referring to him as _important._ "What are you planning on doing with me?" he asked neutrally, trying to hide his fear and anger.

Zira sighed and stretched. "I'm not entirely sure yet, actually. I just wanted to check in on my new _favorite_ prisoner to make sure that you weren't about to die on us." She was about to leave when she turned back to him. "Don't worry; we're probably not going to kill you. We have _far_ better uses in mind." She laughed as she left the cave, followed by the male and female.

Tanai snorted and laid back down in the dirt. He didn't know _what_ Zira had in mind, but he was pretty sure that he wasn't going to like it.

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The Pridelanders moved slowly back to Priderock with their heads hung low. The battle had been a very decisive victory with few casualties, but the shame of allowing their leader to vanish from the field was too terrible to allow for any celebration.

Simba felt horrible. How could _he_, the _King_, allow this to happen? Occasionally a new recruit would get captured by their own foolishness, but the unit leader? He shook his head remorsefully; he had failed.

As they approached Priderock, their families came out to greet them and check on their loved ones. Most found their mates quickly and received them affectionately. Those who had been wounded managed to shock their loved ones a bit, but ultimately relief over their return overcame any surprise of injury.

Simba looked up from the ground to see Kiara running towards him. "Hi Daddy!" she said happily, rubbing up against him.

Simba looked at her sadly, then to Nala who sat only a short ways away. He knew how his daughter felt about Tanai, and it made the information he had to tell her that much more difficult to articulate.

"Where's Tanai?" she asked innocently. "I need to talk to him about something."

Simba gulped. "Kiara… Tanai, he…" the king stuttered, trying to find the words.

"What?" she asked hesitantly. It was clear to her that something was wrong. "Where is he?"

The golden lion shook his head. "We don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" she exclaimed. "Where is he?"

"Kiara, he rescued Kala and made sure she got out alright, but he didn't manage to get back to the group. We don't know what happened to him."

Tears began to well up in his daughter's eyes and Simba cursed himself for his failure. He pulled his daughter into a tight embrace as she began to sob. "We'll find him. Don't worry."

"But… But how could he- Why didn't he…" Kiara succumbed to her emotions and began to release her tears upon her father's shoulder.

Once word spread of Tanai's disappearance, the entire pride seemed to lose its spark. Little was said at meal time and everyone went to bed early. Everyone that is, except Kiara. The lioness sat atop a large boulder near the waterhole, looking up at the stars and wondering where he was. She prayed to the kings that he was safe and unhurt, preferably on his way home. Kiara let a single tear fall to the stone below her as she thought about her family. She had lost her brother long ago and that had been hard enough. She didn't know if she could bear to lose Tanai as well; he was the only one she had.

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From his guarded cave, Tanai could see a small portion of the clear night sky out of the cave's entrance. He wondered what his family was doing back at Priderock. He hoped they were celebrating the victory and not mourning his capture. It bothered him when people pitied him; he didn't feel that he deserved it. There were always others worse off that needed help more than he did. Footsteps from outside caught his attention. He rose to his feet as Zira entered his prison.

"Well Tanai…" she began quietly. "We have a few options to consider."

"_We?"_ he asked, unsure as to who she was referring to.

"Yes, _we_" she said again. "Myself… and to some extent, _you_."

Tanai nodded, though he didn't really understand.

"You see Tanai, from what I've heard from my soldiers, you are an extremely dangerous fighter and have caused us a _lot_ of trouble over the years. Most of my advisors tell me that killing you is our best option, that it would be better to simply remove you from the game all together.

"I thought you _weren't_ going to kill me." Tanai replied dryly.

"I said we _probably_ weren't going to kill you. And I still _probably_ won't." She explained. "You see… my advisors like to play it safe and act only when they are _sure_ of the outcome. You, however, are the complete opposite and it seems to be serving you quite well."

"Not _too_ well. I _am_ here."

Zira smiled amusedly, a strange sight for the usually sneering lioness. "Yes, I suppose you are, but still." She began to pace around the captured lion, making him quite nervous.

"What do you want from me Zira?"

"I want to know what _you_ want."

"What?" he asked, surprised at her statement.

The lioness shrugged. "Surely it must bother you to be only _second _best in your pride. To only have power over your unit? You have to follow the orders of a foolish old lion who throws you against my troops with complete disregard for your safety."

Tanai almost laughed at her. "Are you trying to turn me against my family?"

"I'm trying to get you to realize your true potential. The fact of the matter is that ever since my son died, I have been searching for a suitable replacement to take the throne. There are many males who _want_ the title, but few are very worthy.

"No, Zira." He said simply. "Save your false promises for your minions."

The evil lioness frowned at his blatant refusal, but otherwise remained expressionless. "As you wish, Tanai… just know this, my promises are not empty. If you _were_ to defect from that brute, I _would _make you king of the Pridelands."

Tanai snorted and went to lie down. He watched Zira begin to exit the cave, but stop before she got too far.

"Do not try to escape, Tanai." She warned over her shoulder. "Even if you were able to overtake your guards, we have someone of interest to you that could be made to suffer if you left."

Tanai sat up sharply. "What? Who?"

Zira smiled at his worry. "Don't worry about that; just know that it is within my power to make them go through a very _horrible_ time if you were to leave."

Tanai just stared blankly as Zira left. He racked his mind for who she could possibly have within her grasp. His first thought was to Simba and Kiara, but he was sure that they were fine. He would have seen Simba if he had been captured, and Kiara was safe back home. Maybe it was another warrior from the unit… but again, he would have seen them on the trip to the Outlands. He searched his thoughts for people that she could have captured, but he could think of no one.

He thought about it for nearly an hour before he gave up and rolled to his side with a heavy sigh. Whoever it was, he wasn't going to risk their safety in a desperate escape attempt. Even if it was just a lie thought up by the evil lioness, he didn't want to risk the possibility that it wasn't.

"Are you awake?" a raspy voice called from the entrance.

Tanai looked over to see the younger lioness from before. "Yes, why are you here?"

"My name is Vitani," the lioness said through faked politeness as she approached the injured captive. "My mother wanted me to find out if there was anything you needed."

Tanai blinked. "Yes… maybe you can tell me. How did my unit do against your attack? Was anyone else taken prisoner?"

Vitani grinned at the question. "You're trying to figure out which one of your friends is our prisoner."

Tanai frowned; he had hoped that he hadn't been that transparent.

"Well I'll save you the trouble. I _love_ ruining the surprise," She continued. "We have _Prince_ _Kopa _as our prisoner… among others that you would be interested in as well."

Tanai blinked. "Kopa is dead. I watched him die."

Vitani nodded. "You'd think that, wouldn't you?" But I assure you, he is alive and well. For now."

He shook his head in disbelief. _She was lying, she had to be._ But could he just _assume_ that? What if she _wasn't_ lying? What if she killed the prince because he didn't comply? His head was in turmoil as he looked to the vaguely amused lioness.

"There is one other thing…" she began slowly. "My mother would also like you to reconsider your decision to not join us. She wanted me to tell you that others have done so with little regret… some even know you.

"What?" Tanai asked, again confused as to who it could possibly be. "Who?"

"Your _father_…" she replied quietly.

Tanai's expression dropped. "What? My _father_ is here?"

The lioness nodded. "He's been with us for a long time, ever since I was a cub."

"Describe him."

Vitani shrugged. "He's got the same color coat as you, but a darker mane. There's been this notch in his ear since forever."

Tanai was silent. "I need time to think." He said quietly.

Vitani nodded and left.

He went to the back corner of the cave and laid down. First they tell him that Kopa is alive, then they say his father is with them… it all seemed too ridiculous to believe. Vitani's description of his father had been pretty accurate, though he didn't remember a notch in his ear. Then again, it had been years since his father had left him and he had only foggy memories of his face. Chances are, it wasn't his father, and Kopa wasn't alive… but Tanai was still torn with indecision. Could he try to escape, knowing that he could be risking his best friend's life? Furthermore, could he leave knowing that his father was there? A chance to see his father seemed too good to pass up, even if the lion that once cared about him was no more than one of Zira's minions.

He frowned at his situation. To escape would be to risk killing his lost friend and to stay would likely mean death by execution. Neither option sounded too good to him; there had to be a third choice. He thought back to his conversation with Zira and remembered her offer. _ Join the Outlanders and lead them against Priderock._

The mere thought of betraying his family made him queasy, but the more he thought about it the more it made sense. As an outlander he could search for Kopa to see if he really _was_ alive, and it would be easy to find his father. While he was at it, he could gather valuable information that could help Simba and the rest of the pride in defending against them.

It seemed alright once he thought about it… but was it the _right_ thing to do? He debated with himself in his head for many minutes while he tried to decide if it was right to deceive everyone for the hopes of a lost friend and father. Eventually he came to the conclusion that yes, it was a good thing to do this, even if it felt wrong. In fact, it would be wrong to _not_ investigate further; Kopa was important to others as well as him. How could he explain to Simba and Kiara that there was a chance that Kopa was alive, but he didn't even _try_ to find him? No, he had to do this for everyone, not just himself.

He sat up straight, made more confident by his decision, and waited for either Zira or Vitani to return. It wasn't long before they came back together to check on him.

"Well it's good to see that you haven't tried to escape." Zira remarked. "Now, have you thought about our offer?"

Tanai was silent for a moment before he spoke. "You said that I would be made King of Priderock if I join you?"

Zira smiled and nodded. "Assuming that you are all that I have been told that you are."

"I think that you will find me to be far more than what you have heard." He replied, trying to be a bit more arrogant than usual. If he was going to fit into this pride of killers and liars, he was going to have to change his behavior a bit.

"Does that mean you accept?"

Tanai nodded. "Yes. Every Lion has their price, and you found mine."

"Well, I'm glad you saw the light, Tanai." Zira purred. "May I ask what caused this change of heart?"

Tanai shrugged. "It's like you said, Zira. Simba is a foolish old lion and an unfit ruler. At least compared to me." He allowed an unpleasant and sinister smile cross his face. "It's time for him to be _replaced_."

She smiled in the pleasure of corrupting the younger lion and turned to Vitani. "Go tell the advisors of Tanai's decision."

The lioness nodded and ran off to follow her mother's orders.

Zira turned to her former prisoner. "Well let's get you situated."

*****Author's Note*****

**For those of you who have been following me since the original "Nala's Brother," you probably have noticed that I have been writing almost nonstop since I first started in early May. I'm working on my fifth story and am updating 2000- 3000 word chapters almost daily. With that said, I find it funny that now when I type anything now, I automatically put quotation marks at the beginning and end of sentences like dialogue without thinking about it. Aaahh, the price of writing. Ha**

**REVIEW!**

**-Ben**


	4. Chapter 4: Becoming the Enemy

*****Chapter 4*****

*****Becoming the Enemy*****

Tanai followed Zira through the Outlanders' home of termite mounds and rocky caves. It wasn't a pleasant place, especially with the apparent lack of water. The dusty ground beneath them bore few plants, and those that _were_ able to survive were not very healthy. The sun was rising, making the transition from cool, almost cold night to an inevitably hot and dry day.

As the dawn broke, many of the outlanders were waking and milling about the area. They watched with mixed emotions as the Pridelander was led through their lands. Some appeared angry and others confused. Generally though, he was ignored; the outlanders were too concerned with their own problems to care much for the newcomer.

They walked for several minutes which proved to be rather difficult for the still injured lion, but he kept his head high and refused to show that he was in any pain. The last thing he wanted was to appear weak in front of the merciless outlanders. They soon arrived at a small cave nestled into a rather steep rock face at the top of a small hill. The cave's mouth overlooked the general area of the Outlands, and gave Tanai a good view of the common area.

"This is where you will sleep." Zira told him plainly. "For now, you should rest. This evening you will meet my advisors and we will discuss your… _commitment_."

Tanai nodded and entered the cave without a word.

"One last thing, Tanai…" Zira began. "It would be wise to keep your status as future king a secret from the majority of this Pride."

"Why?"

"As I said before, there are many lions here that would kill for the chance to prove themselves worthy of this title, and they would undoubtedly challenge you. Truthfully, I don't worry for your safety; you are stronger than any of them. I just think you would be bothered _less_ if you kept it a secret.

"Alright." Tanai agreed. It made sense, he supposed. He didn't feel like fighting off other lions for a title he didn't want.

Zira smiled unpleasantly and left.

He watched her leave, and once he was sure she was gone, collapsed in an exhausted heap on the ground. Though it felt strange to sleep in the given circumstances, he knew he had to. His eyelids grew heavy and soon he allowed them to shut completely. His breathing regulated as he fell into the abyss of unconsciousness.

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Meanwhile back at Priderock, the attitude of despair prevailed over the pride. Simba isolated himself atop the peak of Priderock to view the sunrise in solitude. He searched his mind for options and ways to make things right, but nothing came to mind. He had told Kiara that Tanai could be out in the savannah on his own, or he was with Zira, but in truth he doubted either possibility. The only reason that Zira would keep him prisoner would be to trade him back, and _no_ outlander would want Tanai back in the unit's ranks. Besides, other than the throne they had nothing that Zira wanted. It was difficult for Simba to accept, but the odds were that Zira just killed him to eliminate the threat once and for all.

"Simba?" a voice called from behind.

The king turned to see Hanta climbing the trail. "Oh, good morning Hanta. What are you doing up here?"

"The same thing you are"

Simba sighed and bowed his head. "It's _my_ fault that he's gone. You have nothing to be guilty of."

The lion shook his head. "Simba, he was _all_ of our responsibility, not just yours. We failed as a _unit_ not as individuals."

"Still."

"Don't worry, we'll get him back." Hanta assured the king, coming to sit next to him.

Simba shook his head. "You know how unlikely it is that he's still alive."

"I do… but I'm also aware that there _is_ a chance that he is, and I'm willing to cling to it."

The king smiled, but stayed silent for a while, choosing his words. "What should I do?"

Hanta frowned. "I'm not sure what we _can_ do."

"But you just said-"

"I may think that he's still alive, but that doesn't mean that I'm about to plunge headfirst into the Outlands on that notion."

Simba nodded. "I know that we can't risk a rescue attempt, but I still wish there was something we could do."

Hanta smiled. "We can hope, and we can pray."

"And we will."

The two sat in silence for quite a while before they spoke again.

"Do you remember the night his father gave him to us?" Simba asked his friend.

Hanta nodded. "I remember the night; you tried to get him to stay."

"Yes, and I wish he had. Whatever he was running from, we could have protected him."

"Well if his goal was to protect his son, he succeeded."

Simba shook his head. "I always felt bad for Tanai. He went through some terrible ordeals besides his father's leaving… another of my failures."

"Don't go there Simba. Kopa's death was not your fault, and it was not your fault that Tanai saw it. _Zira_ committed the crime, and she is the only one to be blamed for it. You'll drive yourself insane if you keep taking all the blame."

"He was my _son_. How can I _not_ blame myself?"

Hanta sighed and looked across the lightening savannah. "I don't know, Simba… I'm not a father. Just know that the rest of us need you to be our king, and if you are hindered by guilt you risk more than just yourself."

Simba didn't answer, just continued to stare at the rising sub over the Pridelands. The warrior lion turned to leave when Simba spoke.

"Thank you Hanta… It may not be the best time right now, but we do need to address one last thing."

"What's that?"

"I need you to take Tanai's place as unit leader… At least temporarily."

Hanta nodded uneasily. He didn't like the promotion and from the look on Simba's face, neither did he. It felt wrong to simply _replace_ their dear friend as if he was an expendable pawn, but it was necessary. Should the Outlanders launch another attack, they needed someone to lead the unit. "Alright…" Hanta agreed. "But only temporarily."

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A roar from outside his cave woke Tanai from his dreamless sleep. He stood and walked across the sandy cave floor to look out over the common area. The area was dotted with many lions and lionesses, all doing their own thing. The owner of the roar that woke him was in the middle of a fight with another lion off to the side. Spectators surrounded the brawl, cheering and chanting for their side. Near an old log, two lionesses were arguing over what seemed to be a strip of meat. All the while, another group of lionesses lay asleep in the shade of a termite mound, completely ignoring the commotion around them.

Tanai looked up at the sun and realized that it was only barely past midday. He still had several hours before he was expected to do anything; he might as well watch the outlanders. After all, he needed to blend in and the sooner he figured out how to act, the better. He laid himself down and rested his chin on his paws for some extended viewing of the pride.

In less than an hour's time, he saw more fights break out than he did in a _day_ of training back home; and these fights were not for training, they were out of anger. Sometimes the arguments between outlanders didn't progress all the way to violence, just a show of force. It seemed commonplace for any lion who thought he was being challenged to lunge over-aggressively at his threat. Tanai was shocked at the trivial conflicts that somehow offended these lions, most of whom seemed to lack the mental energy to do anything else but growl defiantly.

After an hour of watching, Tanai decided on what he had to do in order to fit in here. He needed to be easily offended and lash out aggressively when anyone did anything that he didn't like. It wasn't a personality that he desired to take on, but he knew he had to if they were going to accept him as one of them. And if he wanted to find Kopa and get out of there, he _needed_ to fit in. Besides, he figured if Kopa _did _exist he only needed a few days at most to find his lost friend.

The Pridelander laid his head back and stared up at the tan stone ceiling with blank eyes. He would be out of this god-forsaken place soon enough, once he completed his mission. He ran threw his goals again in his head: _First, find out if Kopa was alive and get him out of there if he was. Second, find his father. _ The seemed like relatively simple objectives. They shouldn't take too long and hopefully his family wouldn't hate him too much for pretending to betray them.

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"Daddy!" Kiara shouted after her father as he walked away.

Simba turned and smiled at his approaching daughter. "Yes, Kiara?"

"Have you found him yet?"

The king sighed and sat beside the lioness. "The unit is searching the lands near the battle site, but they haven't found anything."

She hung her head low and started to whimper. "So does that mean that Zira has him?"

Simba nodded sadly. "Probably… I'm sorry, Kiara."

She leaned into her father and hugged him tightly. "What will she do to him?"

"I don't know." He replied honestly. "Hopefully she will make some demands in the next couple of days. I don't know what she could possibly want from us, but maybe we can trade to get him back."

She nodded, tears streaking her cheeks. "I'm so worried…"

"I know, honey… but it will all work out." As the words escaped his mouth, Simba knew that the statement was unlikely. If Zira had her way, she would make sure _nothing_ worked out.

Eventually, Kiara broke off the hug from her father. "Thanks," she said quietly. "I'm going to go take a walk."

Simba nodded and watched her leave. He loved his daughter so much and wished he could take away her pain. This whole thing was really getting to everyone.

Kiara headed off for the open Savannah, but cut sharply back towards Priderock as soon as she was out of her father's sight. She knew he cared about her, but sometimes she just wanted him to let her do her own things. Going to see Tanai's teammates was one of those things.

The lioness ducked into a dim cave to see Rafiki tending to those wounded in the battle. She tried to remember the name of the lioness she was searching for while she watched the mandrill apply his bandages to a lion with a torn open leg.

"'Ere you are, Tujo… try not ta move too much."

"Thanks Rafiki." The lion said dreamily. He was clearly under some sort of sedation.

The primate looked to the newly arrived Lioness. "Ello dere Princess Kiara, always a pleasure."

Kiara smiled at the shaman's formality. "Hi, Rafiki. Maybe you can help me?"

"I'll try."

"I'm looking for a lioness that was wounded yesterday. I think her name was… Kana, maybe… Tana?"

Rafiki nodded in understanding. "You are looking for Kala, the one Tanai saved."

She nodded.

Rafiki pointed back to the corner. "She is back dere, by my stick."

"Thank you Rafiki… and could you not tell my dad that I was here? He would only think I'm getting too involved."

"Vedy well, if dat is what you want."

The princess smiled and turned toward the wounded lioness. She approached the bored looking lioness with caution; there was no telling what kind of condition she was in.

"Kala?"

"Yes?"

"You're the one that Tanai saved?"

The lioness' expression instantly dropped from one of boredom to sheer anger. "What about it?"

Kiara was taken aback by the sudden hostility, but pressed on anyways. "I was hoping that you could tell me anything about what happened. Anything about Tanai."

Kala's face softened a little. "I'll tell you exactly what I told everyone else. I got separated from the main group and was about to be killed when Tanai jumped in front of the Outlander. He fought them while two other lions pulled me back to safety. The last I saw of him, Tanai was beating the crap out of a bunch of _them_."

Kiara frowned. She had been hoping for some more information than that. "He wasn't hurt or anything when you saw him?"

Kala paused for a moment. "Actually… he took the blow that was meant for me. His shoulder was bleeding, but I don't think it was really bothering him."

Kiara nodded. "Alright. Thanks for the information, Kala."

"Princess," Kala started, hesitating for a moment. "I'm sorry… I got him into the situation."

Kiara shook her head. Though it was tempting to blame the new recruit for Tanai's situation, she knew it was wrong. "It wasn't your fault. It's war."

Kala nodded and laid back against the wall. "_Isn't that the truth_." She muttered darkly.

Kiara left the cave shortly and headed out into the savannah. She told her father that she would take a walk, and now she truly wanted to. She was drowning in worry and she needed to clear her head; there were too many reminders of Tanai around Priderock to think clearly.

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Tanai nodded in silent greeting at the advisors that sat around a large rock inside one of the largest termite mounds. He looked up at Zira who sat regally atop the large stone.

"Well everyone," she began. "This is Tanai… our newest member and the one I have chosen for the task at hand."

The outlanders frowned at the newcomer, clearly irritated at his arrival.

"This is foolish, Zira." Began one of the lions to Tanai's left. "He is barely full grown! How is he to do what you expect him to?"

Zira leapt from her perch and walked slowly to the speaker. "Tell me, Huka…" she hissed dangerously. "_When did it become alright for you to use that tone of voice with me_?"

Huka's expression dropped like a stone as he stammered for an explanation. "I-uuh, I, he… I apologize Zira, it won't happen again."

A sharp backhand sent the male reeling back in pain. "It had better not happen again," Zira said coldy. "Or next time you will face a _far_ harsher punishment."

Huka nodded slowly as he stood. "Y-yes Ma'am."

Zira stared angrily at him for a moment before turning to Tanai who had watched the spectacle with shock. As soon as the lioness looked at him however, he fixed his expression to look as stone-faced as that of the advisor next to him.

"As I was saying…" she continued nonchalantly. "I have decided on having Tanai assume the role of training an elite group of fighters."

Tanai blinked at her statement. This wasn't what he thought he was going to do.

Zira seemed to sense his confusion because she walked over to stand in front of him. "Yes Tanai… You will train a small elite force to perform raids on the Pridelands. Once you have proven your worth as a member of this pride, we will advance you to wherever suits you best."

Tanai remained stone-faced as he nodded. "When can I start choosing the fighters?"

Zira grinned as she turned to her advisors. "Now _that's_ the attitude we need more of. You all could learn a few things from this '_barely full grown_' lion.

Huka gulped and lowered his eyes. A bruise was beginning to show through his fur on his cheek.

Zira turned to a large lion that seemed very familiar to Tanai. "Shakra, provide Tanai with everything he needs to begin training his unit."

"Yes Ma'am." The lion responded in a strong voice.

Tanai instantly recognized the voice as the one that had saved his life on the battlefield. The lion that had decided to take him prisoner instead of killing him. _This should be interesting_. He thought to himself as Shakra bore into him with angry eyes.

Zira continued to talk about something insignificant, and Tanai scanned the rest of the advisors. He froze as his eyes fell upon a darker pelted lion with a brown mane. Tanai stared at the notch in the ear and familiar, though aged face. _His father._ The lion glanced at Tanai uneasily and shifted his weight as if he wanted to leave.

"You are dismissed," Zira said shortly as she walked towards the back of the cave. The advisors all stood and began to leave in groups.

Tanai looked back to where his father had been sitting, but the lion was gone. He frowned, disappointed and unsure of himself. Sharp breathing behind him made him turn to see Shakra staring angrily at him.

"Let's get something straight right now." The large gray lion hissed. "_I_ am the military leader of this pride and you are under _my_ authority!"

Tanai blinked at the aggressive behavior, but stayed silent. After all, it was only normal here.

"Zira ordered me to give you everything you needed to make this unit, and I'll do it. But only because I want to see you crash and burn! If this unit is _anything_ less than _superb_, I will personally see to your punishment and I assure you that it will be _extremely_ harsh."

Tanai put on a fake smile. "Well then I'll just be sure to make it _more_ than superb."

Shakra snarled at the newcomer's smugness. "Meet me at the training grounds tomorrow at dawn. We'll start then." The lion reeled away as if in disgust and disappeared behind a boulder.

Tanai stayed frozen in his place for several moments before heading off towards his cave above the common area. _What have I gotten myself into?_ He asked himself in horror as he lay down for the night. Shakra was certainly an intimidating lion and Tanai had no doubts about his sincerity. If he screwed up with making this elite unit, he was _dead,_ or _worse._ Zira wouldn't stop Shakra either, if she didn't think he was worth keeping around she just might kill him herself.

The distraught lion stared out at the starry sky. He wished he was back home with his friends... With Simba…. With Kiara. He missed her immensely and regretted not spending more time with her while he had the chance. He was playing a dangerous game here, and there was a possibility that he might not see her again.

*****Author's Note*****

**To address some people's confusion about the earlier chapter, when Tanai referred to Simba as "An old lion" he meant it as an insult rather than literally just as a son will call his father an "Old man" regardless of his age. As far as Tanai's true feelings towards Zira, I hope you can see from this chapter that he has no desire to take the throne from Simba, he just wants to find Kopa and his Father.**

**Hope this clears up any confusion, I don't have anything else to say except the usual:  
!REVIEW AND COMMENT!**

**-Ben**


	5. Chapter 5: A New Unit

*****Chapter 5*****

*****A New Team*****

The heat and discomfort of the Outlands forced Tanai to wake earlier than usual to his displeasure. He shook the grogginess from his head and walked outside into the dark, barren land. The sky was just beginning to lighten from the coming sunrise and made it seem almost pointless to try to get back to sleep. Tanai groaned inwardly and stretched out on the sandy floor in an attempt to loosen his back from the uncomfortable ground. His back cracked loudly and the young lion sighed in pleasure at the relief.

He trotted down the slope towards the training grounds to wait around for Shakra to chew him out again. He frowned as he remembered the situation he was in with the Outlanders. He had to _train_ an _elite unit _from scratch… it was not something he was expecting. He had hoped to give Zira a few pointers in battle tactics and then have a ton of time to search around for Kopa and his father. He didn't want to give them anything of too much use, but Zira clearly expected more from him than he wanted to give. He was just going to have to try to get away with as much as he could before he escaped, he decided reluctantly. Though he had to give them _something; _he couldn't help anyone if he was dead. He just needed to move quickly and get out before anyone figured out what happened.

Tanai waited around the deserted training grounds for some time before lions started wandering in to begin their morning practice. They eyed him dangerously but didn't approach him because of some unknown reason. He didn't mind though, he wasn't here to make friends.

"I'm surprised you woke up in time." A voice hissed from his left. Tanai turned calmly to face Shakra.

"Well, I'm here."

"Barely," the lion scoffed. "You look like you're half asleep. What's the matter? Didn't like the cave?"

Tanai just shrugged at Shakra's mocking. Starting a fight with Outlanders' military leader didn't seem like a good idea. "Shall we get started?" he asked coldly, wanting to get this meeting over with.

"I suppose. The gang's all here." He said irritably before turning to the crowd of lions. "_Most_ of them ayways."

A pair of younger lions dotted around a nearby boulder, hurriedly making their way to the ranks of their teammates. They were almost to the group when Shakra descended upon them like a buzzard on a carcass.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?" he demanded furiously at the late soldiers who dropped to the ground in fear "THE SUN IS ALREADY UP AND YOU TWO AREN'T IN FORMATION!".

"W-we're v-very sorry, Sir…" one began to murmur nervously. "There- There w-was this…"

He was cut off by Shakra's strong paw across his face. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR EXCUSES! NOW GET YOUR SORRY PELTS IN FORMATION!"

The late arrivals moved to the group, but Shakra struck out at them again, this time claws unsheathed. The first lion howled in pain at the shallow cut on his cheek and ran off to the rest of the group. From the way everyone looked at the spectacle, Tanai judged that they had all been in similar situations.

"Alright, now." Shakra began as he addressed the whole group. "I think you all may remember _Tanai_ here; he's the Pridelander that we've been fighting for the last couple years and the one that has _killed_ a few of our guys himself."

The crowd glared at Tanai with the hate of an enemy, because that's just what he was. He didn't appreciate the way Shakra was introducing him, though it was all true.

"Bottom line is," the Outlander continued. "He needs a team of four of you to work with. Tint, Mardok, Hatra, and Fila, get up here."

Tanai watched as two lions, the ones that had arrived late, and two lionesses emerged from the ranks to stand in front of Shakra.

"Well, _Tanai." _Shakra said with false kindness. "Here's your team."

"I don't get to chose who I want?" he asked dryly, not really surprised at how things were going.

"Zira said that I had to provide you with everything you need, and I am. You have a team and grounds to train. You shouldn't need anything more, now should you?" the gray lion's eyes narrowed dangerously and Tanai just shook his head.

"I think this will do for now."

"Good. Then we'll get out of your hair." With that, Shakra rounded up the rest of the Outlanders and headed off for some training that he had planned, leaving Tanai alone with his new team.

Once the military leader had left, Tanai looked over the fighters he had given. Mardok and Hatra, the late arrivals, looked very similar and could have been brothers with their deep brown pelts. The lionesses Tint and Fila looked almost like angry versions of a larger Kiara. They all glared at their new leader with significant distaste.

Tanai sat on the ground in front of them and eventually his eyes fell on Hatra's cut left my Shakra. "Well it was nice of Shakra to give me his punching bag… though I kind of get the feeling that you _all_ were his punching bag at one point or another."

The fighters looked uncertainly at one another.

"As he told you, my job is to make this team into an elite raider team, and _frankly_ it's going to be difficult. Since I'm still injured from the battle I can't do much for the harsher exercises. As a result, we won't run or do anything like that for a few days. Today, we'll just sparand move onto tactics later.

The outlanders just stared at him blankly.

"Let's go, get with a partner." The fighters obeyed begrudgingly and partnered up with their same-sex partner. Hatra with Mardok, and Tint with Fila.

"Begin." Tanai said to start the two matches. He watched the lions and lionesses instantly tackle their partners and begin to roll around on the ground. Neither partner in either group could get any advantage over the other because of their close proximity.

Tanai just stared blankly at the pathetic excuses for fighting, trying not to laugh. He remembered how Hanta had criticized him once for 'trying to hump his opponent rather than fight them.'

He shrugged hopelessly at the matches and tried to figure out what to do. He didn't want to make them _too_ good so that they would be a threat to the Pridelanders, but he also had to make them a _little _bit better.

"Okay, stop!" he called out to stop the matches. The outlanders looked up at him confusedly. "Are any of you team leaders or anything?"

They stared at him blankly.

"Come on, guys. It's a simple question; are any of you in charge of anyone else?"

Tint looked to the ground. "No, sir. There are only a few leaders other than Shakra." She said quietly.

"When you say a _few_, how many do you mean?"

"Two, sir."

"So you mean to tell me that Shakra has only _two_ other leaders that run this _entire_ unit?"

"Yes sir."

Tanai blinked in confusion. There were _far_ too many fighters to only have three leaders, two if you didn't count Shakra. "Why aren't there more?"

Tint shrugged. "Nobody wants to be one."

Well _that_ made sense. Tanai had already seen Shakra's leadership style. _Fear_. He punished failure and mistakes very harshly; it was no wonder that few fighters wanted the responsibility of their teammates. One screw up and they might be killed on the spot.

"So have any of you received any _formal_ combat training?"

Hatra stepped forward almost angrily. "We've all been in over _five_ fights against _your_ people."

"So is that a no?"

Hatra growled angrily and stepped closer towards Tanai. "Don't think that you're so much better than us! We're only here because we were ordered to be."

Tanai nodded slowly at the lion's statement. He remembered how everyone else seemed to so violent, he might as well get used to it. In a single motion Tanai struck Hatra across the muzzle, claws sheathed, and tripped him over his back leg. The dark lion fell to the ground hard and tried to stand, but Tanai pressed his shoulders into the dirt to pin him. He raised his paw to strike down on his downed enemy, causing Hanta to flinch in fear and close his eyes to the impending pain. It never came.

Hatra looked up to see Tanai relieving the pressure from his shoulders and allowing him to stand. "Let's get this straightened out right now." the Pridelander said to the four outlanders. "If you respect me, I'll respect you. But if you keep pulling stuff like _that, _then we're going to have a problem. Understood?"

Hatra nodded reluctantly and returned to his place with the other Outlanders.

"Let's start with some basics." Tanai began. If they were going to look even remotely acceptable to Zira, they were going to have to learn at least the basics of combat.

He spent the rest of the morning teaching his new students the basics that was known by even the newest recruit in the Pridelands. It soon became clear that they weren't stupid; it was just that no one had ever taken the time to explain things to them. Hatra in particular caught Tanai's eye. Under the gruff exterior that he liked to show off, all he really lacked was self-confidence.

It wasn't long before they were sparring at a reasonable level of skill.

"Hatra, extend your strikes more. "You're being too timid."

The lion growled and broke off from his match with Tint to walk over towards Tanai. "Why can't you just let me do my thing? Why can't you _shut up?_"

Tanai sighed and raised his paw to push his mane out of his eyes. He was surprised to see Hatra flich away in response to his movement. "Relax, Hatra." He tried to calm him. "I'm not going to hit you, though this _is_ what we were talking about isn't it?"

The dark lion nodded reluctantly. "I respect you, you respect me…"

"Yes. Now let's start over. What is the problem?"

"I want you to talk less."

Tanai chuckled slightly to himself. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I'm supposed to train you and I have to critique you if you are going to get better."

"We aren't _going _to get better!" The lion growled. "We're the worst possible picks for this!"

Tanai blinked. "What do you mean?"

Tint walked up to stand beside Hatra. "None of us are considered very good… Shakra gave us to you because he wants you, and us, to fail."

The Pridelander nodded in understanding. "Well from what I've seen, you all have been doing fine. Far better than you were doing earlier." He looked around at the outlanders, in an attempt to figure them out. They truly _weren't_ bad, just in need of some individual training. They clearly thought otherwise.

"In any case," he continued. "We'll work on it. Just know that you aren't defined by Shakra, or anyone else for that matter."

They all nodded, but remained silent. Tanai shrugged; it would take time to get them the confidence they needed.

"Let's move out into the fields and work on some tactics." He said plainly, leading them away from the training grounds.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Tanai collapsed to the ground in his cave from exhaustion; the sun was only just setting. The day's training hadn't been that difficult, but his injuries were bothering him and made it feel as if he weighed twice as much as usual. He knew he should go out looking for any place that Kopa could be hidden, but he was just too tired. He needed to sleep; he would look after training tomorrow.

He recounted the day's instruction as he lay staring up at the ceiling. His new team had done well, considering that they had never been taught any of this before. Even Hatra's attitude had improved by the end of the day. Once they realized that he wasn't going to beat them for mistakes, they loosened up a little and were a little more daring. They weren't afraid to take the chance of being wrong, and as a result became much more confident when they made correct choices. Hatra had even smiled at one point when Tanai had complimented him for his stealth.

He knew that he shouldn't like these outlanders, but he was starting to. He felt bad for them and how they were treated by their superiors, but there wasn't much he could do other than what he was already doing. With these thoughts, Tanai drifted off to sleep.

Morning soon broke and Tanai went out to meet his team for their second day of training. Tint and Fila were waiting patiently when he arrived, though Hatra and Mardok were nowhere to be found. He was about to get started without them when the two lions came bounding from around a boulder.

"Hatra, Mardok." Tanai called to them, making them freeze in their tracks.

They walked slowly over to him and sat, waiting for the expected punishment. "Yes Sir?" Mardok said quietly.

"Why are you late?"

"Well," began Hatra, "We woke up kind of late… and we-"

"Hatra, I don't want reasons, I want an excuse."

The two lions blinked in confusion. "What's the difference?"

Tanai sighed. They really hadn't been taught much by Shakra. "An excuse is a good, reasonable, and understandable justification for what you did. A reason is just you trying to get out of trouble. If you have a good excuse, I want to hear it. But if you don't, then say so and get to training."

Hatra and Mardok exchanged glances before responding. "There was this log that fell in front of this lioness' cave and she couldn't get out until it was moved."

"So you helped her move the log?"

"Yes sir…" they answered sheepishly.

Tanai smiled. "Well now _that_, is an excuse. Go start the exercises."

"Yes sir." They answered readily, thankful that he hadn't treated them as Shakra did.

Tanai watched them exercise and move into sparring, only to find himself at a loss for words. The team that stood before him was _not_ the one he had started out with the day before. Already they were fighting far better and their attitudes had greatly improved. If he didn't know any better, Tanai would have said that they were actually enjoying the training. He supposed it _was_ probably quite a relief compared to Shakra's demands, though it still seemed strange.

The day of training passed smoothly and relatively uneventfully. Having gotten past their fear of making mistakes, the Outlanders absorbed new information and lessons like an Acacia took in water in the dry season. They did so well, Tanai decided to end the day early; though he had his own motives to finish early.

Once his team had gone their ways, Tanai took a "walk" through the Outlands. He searched around for any place that Kopa could be held, including near the chamber he was originally held in. He searched for hours in the dusty lands and searched countless empty termite mounds for the prince, but at the end of the day he headed back to his cave empty-handed. The sun was falling behind the horizon when Tanai caught sight of a familiar lion watching him from afar. The lion stared at him strangely with his dark eyes. Tanai stared back at his father for a moment before starting off to catch up with him.

As soon as the lion realized he had been spotted, he headed off in the opposite direction. Tanai raced after him, but got caught up in a crowd of Shakra's returning troops. One of the lions shouldered the Pridelander hard and nearly knocked him to the ground.

"Oops." He sneered. "Guess I didn't see you there, _Pridelander_." Tanai glared at the lion for a moment while he decided what to do. He was already in a sour mood from losing track of his father, _and_ he needed to blend in a little more. A little ruthlessness would be a good thing to show right now.

Tanai lunged at the larger lion and easily rolled him onto his back into an inescapable pin. A crowd of his teammates surrounded the fighting pair, cheering and yelling for them. Tanai blinked as he realized that they didn't care at all for their teammate, they were just enjoying the fight.

He returned his attention to the struggling lion and began to club him over the head with powerful, well timed strikes. He made sure to plaster a look of enjoyment across his face, though he hated to beat an already pinned opponent. Once the lion was beginning to lose consciousness, Tanai gripped his throat sharply with his claws. "_If you EVER try something like that again… I WILL kill you._" He hissed in his ear. The cheering crowd grew silent as they realized Tanai's threat. They had all thought of the Pridelander of being almost a wuss. His threat, however, distinctly reminded them all of Zira.

They parted easily and allowed Tanai to pass through their ranks, leaving the bloodied and barely conscious Outlander on the ground behind him. They could see the fury in his eyes as he passed and did not make any attempt towards him.

Tanai walked quickly towards his cave, fuming, though not at the lion he fought. He was angry at himself for beating the Outlander so savagely. He knew it was what he had to do in order to fit in, but it was nevertheless unsettling; he had never done anything like that before and he hoped that he never would again.

He climbed the hill to his cave, only to find Zira at the mouth.

"Hello, Tanai." She hissed almost pleasantly. "You dealt with that soldier quite well."

He frowned at her presence, not pleased at all to see her. "Disrespect cannot be tolerated."

The lioness smiled. "No, it cannot."

"Was there something else you needed of me, Zira?"

She nodded. "First, I wanted to explain to you the situation you are in; your elite unit is your test, if you haven't figured it out yet."

"Yes, I was well aware of that."

"Second," she continued. "Tomorrow I am sending a team into the Pridelands."

Tanai blinked in alarm, but was careful not to let it show. "An attack?"

"No, I need to send a message to Simba." She grinned evilly. "And I thought it might be fitting to send _you_ to deliver it."

Tanai was speechless at her request; she actually _wanted _him to return home. "You expect me to _return_ to the pride that I betrayed?"

She nodded. "I thought you might enjoy surprising them… and it sends an interesting message."

"And what message is that?"

"That we are strong enough to turn one of their most beloved leaders against them."

Tanai didn't know what to say. If he went home, he could easily just stay there even if there were other Outlanders with him. On the other hand, he _couldn't_ leave yet! He still needed to find Kopa and his father; he needed more time! If he went home, he would have to lie to his family's face and be convincing enough to make the other Outlanders think he was serious. It would be difficult, but he didn't see another option. To refuse to go would be to admit to caring about his pride, and Zira wouldn't look too kindly upon that.

Tanai nodded slowly. "Alright… I'll go."

Zira smiled. He had passed her test. "Good. We leave at dawn."

"What about my unit's training?"

The evil lioness shrugged. "I'm sure they'll be fine for one day on their own." She turned away from the light-maned lion and kicked a rock on her way out.

Tanai nodded and watched her leave his cave. Memories suddenly flooded back of the day Kopa died. He remembered her evil laughter as his best friend screamed in her clutches. He bore into the back of her head with his stare, hating the lioness for everything she had done. She was responsible for _all_ of this and he loathed her for it.

He sighed as she disappeared around a corner and went to lie down. He needed to sleep if he was going to see his family again. He closed his eyes and fell into a nervous sleep. He dreaded the dawning with all his heart.

*****Author's Note*****

**Okay guys, here's the thing. I know that a lot of you are reading this and are following the story **_**without**_** commenting. All in all, very few comments have been given for this story and I'm at a loss for what to do. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! And it makes my job a lot harder if I don't know what you think. For the love of god! Just tell me your opinion; you don't even need an account to do so! I'm really enjoying writing this story, but I need to know if I'm doing it well. To those of you who **_**have**_** commented, thank you for the effort; I really appreciate it. Stay tuned for the return of Tanai, it should be good. !COMMENT AND REVIEW! It only takes a moment and means the world to us writers!**

**-Ben**


	6. Chapter 6: The Return Home

*****Chapter 6*****

*****The Return Home*****

Though he was rather distraught and irritated with the problem of returning home as well as the discomfort of his cave, Tanai still managed to get a decent night's sleep. He woke slowly and looked outside to see the sky lightening into a pale pinkish hue, foreshadowing the sun's arrival. He swore silently and got himself up hurriedly. He raced to the training grounds to find Hatra and Mardok already there.

"I've got an assignment, guys. Sorry I didn't tell you sooner." He apologized to the two lions.

Hatra blinked. "You're leaving?"

"Only for the day. Zira's orders."

Mardok looked almost disappointed. "What about training?"

Tanai shrugged hopelessly. "Go back and rejoin Shakra for the day."

The two lions frowned at the suggestion. "Do we _have_ to?" they asked sheepishly.

Tanai shook his head. "I won't be here with you, so I won't expect you to do anything that I'm not. But it _would_ probably be helpful for you to work with different partners and a larger group."

They shared an uncomfortable glance before Mardok nodded reluctantly. "Yea… We'll do it."

"But we won't like it…" Hatra added.

"You don't have to like it. It's good for you." Tanai reminded them. "Tell Tint and Fila what's going on when they get here."

Hatra nodded and walked off to join the other Outlanders.

Tanai watched him to make sure he went, and then took off to meet up with the Outlanders for the departure. He reached the group just as they were preparing to depart. He looked around the group of about five Outlanders and recognized only a few faces. Two he remembered from the meeting with the advisors, and the other three he assumed to be just plain old soldiers for security.

"Tanai…" an unpleasantly sweet voice called. "I was starting to get worried."

"I'm here."

Zira smiled and walked up to stand beside the lion. "Yes… Yes you are. And you are _ready._"

Tanai hated the lioness' phrase, but remained silent as she addressed the group.

"Remember, all of you," she began. "You are _not_ to attack _at all._ If you are threatened, get out of there quickly; there aren't enough of you to mount a proper defense. As for the message… you are simply to tell them that we still stand strong against them, and that only complete surrender on their part will end this war."

"Ma'am…" asked one of her advisors hesitantly. "Don't they already know that?"

Zira nodded slowly, showing clear distaste for her subordinate's lack of forethought. "Yes… they _should_ at least understand that by now. But this time we have one of their _own_ telling it to them. It will at least dishearten them; perhaps even make them see the _light_."

The advisor nodded, though he still didn't seem to understand.

Tanai, however, _did_ understand. This mission wasn't about relaying any real or important information, but just about ZIra shoving her victory in Simba's face. She was clearly more thrilled about Tanai's treachery than she was letting on to the other Outlanders, and she couldn't resist gloating about it.

After a few short reminders of the rules of engagement as well as of what _not_ to say, the group departed for Priderock. Within a short amount of time they had reached the border of the outlands and the log bridge that gated the way to the Pridelands. Tanai glanced back to see Zira atop a small boulder a short distance away, watching them depart. The evil lioness nodded in encouragement to the Pridelander before dismounting the rock and returning back to the Outlands.

The group walked silently at first, but soon began to talk. The bodyguards talked amongst themselves about past fights and future battles while the advisors discussed future plans that they wanted to use. Tanai stayed silent as they walked, listening vaguely to both conversations in the attempt to learn some new information, but neither group was very in depth with their talks.

The light-maned lion sighed deeply as he turned his thoughts to the coming reunion. He knew he couldn't return yet; he had nothing yet to show for his absence. He also knew he was going to have to act _terribly _convincing to his family if he was going to maintain his image with the Outlanders. Judging by the way the bodyguards glanced at him occasionally, they had heard about the fighter he had beaten the night before. One sign of weakness and it was all over; one sentence that indicated that he still cared for his family and they would rip him _apart_.

It was going to kill him to treat them in the way that he was going to, but he was doing it because he cared. The possibility that Kopa was alive was enough to get him to do almost anything to try to get him back, even make his family think he was a monster.

**(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Despite the pride's loss, everyone had settled back into their daily routine since Tanai's absence. Kiara was still worried sick, as was all his friends, but the reality of the situation was beginning to dawn on them.

Simba stared at his daughter's unmoving form at the mouth of the main cave. She had laid there a lot in the last few days and appeared to be sleeping, though anyone who approached her could see plainly that her eyes were wide open. She wasn't asleep, she _couldn't _sleep. She wanted desperately to believe in Tanai's survival, but each passing day without word was beginning to discourage her.

The king sighed sadly and went out to sit beside her. She didn't move or even acknowledge him, though he knew she was fully aware of his presence.

"Kiara…" he began softly.

"I know Daddy." She said neutrally.

Simba blinked. "Know what?"

"I know what you're going to say. You're going to say that he's probably out there, just fine and wanting to come home."

The king nodded slowly. "He probably is, honey."

Tears began to well up in the princess' eyes. "No Daddy… he probably _isn't_. If he isn't in the Pridelands, then Zira has him. And if Zira has him alive, she would come to us to try to get something in return."

Simba nodded sadly, but stayed silent. His daughter knew more about how this all worked than he had originally given her credit for.

"It's been _days!_ And we haven't even _seen_ an Outlander."

"He still could be alive…"

"If he's alive, then Zira is probably _interrogating_ him!" she cried, tears beginning to stream down her face. "That's the _best_ case scenario right now, that Tanai is being _tortured_ by Zira while we can't do anything to help him!" She finished her outburst and buried her sobbing face in her paws.

Simba nodded sadly and put his arm around his distraught daughter. "I'm worried too, Kiara."

The two lay there for several minutes, taking comfort in each other's embrace. Simba felt terribly sorry for his daughter, but even more so for Tanai. The lion was practically his son, and he had a massive responsibility to protect him, as a _father_ and as a King. A responsibility he had fallen short of.

"SIRE!" Zazu squawked as he landed beside the king.

"Not now Zazu." Simba said irritably.

"But Sire, it's Tanai!"

"_What?"_ the king exclaimed excitedly.

Kiara raised her head instantly and stared at the majordomo in shock.

Now that he had gotten their attention, Zazu went into the finer details. "He's with a group of Outlanders heading this way right now!"

Simba quickly rose to his feet. "They must want to trade! Go rally the unit, Zazu. This might get nasty."

Kiara looked hopefully to the horizon for her returning friend, though they were still too far off to see from Priderock. "He's coming back." She whispered to no one in particular.

The pride gathered quickly and efficiently at the base of Priderock to meet the envoy from the Outlands. Most were quite thrilled to know that Tanai was returning; word from the sentries revealed him to be unhurt. Simba sat atop a large stone with Kiara and Hanta sitting next to him. They discussed amongst themselves what the Outlanders could possibly want in exchange for Tanai while they waited for the group to arrive. The unit hung around the area in small groups, more for security than anything else. It wasn't that they expected the Outlanders to try anything, but it was better safe than sorry.

It wasn't long before the group had entered the sight line of the great stone and advanced towards the gathering of Pridelanders at its base. Tanai was stone faced with his dread; he knew what he had to do. He put on his false face and prepared to hide his emotion. Hiding emotion was something he had learned long ago from Simba and Hanta. To show emotion in combat was to allow your enemy to understand you that much more and give them more of a chance to beat you. Tanai knew he could hide his emotions, but he also knew it would be insanely difficult to do so in front of his family. He shook his head in distress. There was no going back now.

Kiara smiled broadly, as did everyone else, when Tanai came into sight of the pride. He seemed healthy, though he was carrying himself a bit strangely. Kiara felt that something was amiss, but her joy at seeing her lost friend come home safely was more than enough to override her sense of unease.

The Outlanders came to stand in front of Simba and the rest of the Pridelanders. Everyone was silent while they waited for the king to speak.

"Why are you here?" Simba asked, though he felt he had a pretty good idea as to why.

One of the advisors stepped up. "We come bearing a message from Zira," he began loudly. "She warns you that we still stand strongly against you, and that only your complete and utter surrender can end this war."

Simba looked ready to laugh. "Yes, yes. I've heard all this before, but shall we proceed to the prisoner exchange?"

The advisor grinned. "You want your Pridelander _fool_ back with you?"

Tanai growled with false anger and swiped at the Advisor, knocking him to the ground. Both the Pridelanders and the Outlanders stared in shock at the fallen Outlander and Tanai standing over him dangerously.

"You need to watch what you _say_." Tanai hissed at the frightened advisor. "Next time I won't be so _lenient_."

He nodded in fear and crawled to the side before standing.

Tanai turned to face the confused faces of his family. He knew what they were thinking, _why had he just disciplined an Outlander?_ It kind of violated the whole prisoner- guard relationship. He scanned the familiar faces slowly, enjoying the comfort it provided. Sooner or later, though, it had to end. Tanai rested his vision on Simba, Hanta, and Kiara near the large rock. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Confused?"

Simba nodded slowly. "Have they been treating you alright, Tanai?"

Tanai forced out a malevolent laugh at his remark. "As you can see, I'm not exactly the one _suffering_ here."

Kiara stared blankly at him. "What are you talking about Tanai?"

"I guess what I'm saying is that I'm not coming back. Sorry to ruin the welcome party, but I've got a new home."

The Outlanders grinned at each other when the Pridelanders realized what he meant.

"You _joined_ them?" Simba asked, his face reflecting his horror. "You _joined_ the pride that tried to _kill _you?"

He nodded calmly. "What can I say? They have far more to give me than you ever could."

The king was speechless at the explanation. He stared at his former friend with a mix of shock and sadness for a while before speaking again. "W-why have you come back… if you aren't staying?"

Tanai forced an evil grin. "I came back to tell you the same thing they have _been_ telling you. Surrender to us and accept the responsibilities of Scar's death!"

Tanai looked around in hidden revulsion at his family's reaction. Most just stared in shock and disbelief at the turned lion, while others dug at the dirt in rage and anger. That in itself killed him enough, but one look at his closest friends nearly broke his heart. Hanta just shook his head sadly, disappointment clear in his eyes. Simba looked about ready to cry, while Kiara was already there. Silent tears flowed down her face as she stared at him with her penetrating eyes. It was the sight of _her_ that drove him most insane, he simply couldn't deal with her look. On the inside, Tanai was screaming out to his family from the depths of his heart. He begged for them to forgive him and to know that he could _never_ turn against them, but on the outside he maintained his stone-faced glare. He hid his emotion from them all and as a result, they both suffered.

"Tanai…" Simba said quietly. "You- you were given to us as a cub… I raised you like my son. Don't you _care_ about any of that?"

A nasty laugh cut him off. "To be perfectly honest, I _did_ care Simba… back when you were hiding the truth from me. You see, I see now how powerful I can truly become… and it isn't _with_ you, but _against_ you."

"We love you Tanai…" Hanta said sadly. "Don't do this."

"Don't give me that, Hanta. I surpassed you long ago, and now I've surpassed the entire pride. The Outlanders provide me the resources and opportunity that you never _did_ and never _will_. The only thing you can do for me now is to _die_ at the hands of me and my men."

Tanai was just as horrified at the words that were escaping through his mouth as his family was, though he hid it all with a nasty grin. He watched Kiara flee the gathering, sobbing as she went. Many others left as well, no longer wanting to be in the presence of the treacherous lion.

The advisor stepped forward, and Tanai nodded to allow him to speak. "We will leave now. Until the next battle, you _Highness._"

Simba nodded numbly as Tanai turned his back on him and left with the Outlanders. The joy that had been felt upon the news of his return was smashed and replaced with a worse feeling than if he had been killed. Those who had fought under him stared with intense anger and pain. They had lost a brother, and now they would have to fight him as they would any other enemy.

Tanai stared at the ground as he walked with the Outlanders in silence. He hung to the back so as to avoid their company. A lone and silent tear fell from his eye, only to be wiped away quickly for fear of the others seeing it. He looked worriedly at them, but they hadn't noticed. It didn't matter anyways, Tanai figured. He would probably feel better dead than to continue living this lie. In a few short minutes, he had managed to hurt his family in a way that Zira had always _dreamed_ of doing. He hated himself for it, but they weren't the only casualties. Tanai felt destroyed, his heart was shattered.

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Simba found his daughter in one of the back caves, alone and in tears. He watched her from afar, unsure of how to proceed. In truth, he was just as confused and saddened as she was, but he had a duty as a father to comfort her. He walked over to her softly and put his paw on her side.

"I'm sorry, Kiara…" is all he could think to say.

The lioness sobbed into her paws for several moments before answering. "How c-could he _do that?_ How could he just _leave _us?"

SImba shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Kiara… I don't know."

Kiara looked up at her father with glistening eyes. "I thought he cared about us… about _me_. But he joined _her_ because he thought she could make him _stronger_."

"Zira must have brainwashed him or something…" he offered helplessly.

"Or maybe we just didn't know him as well as we thought we did." She murmured darkly.

"Don't worry, Honey." Simba said soothingly as he pulled Kiara into a tight hug. "Things will work out eventually."

The lioness shook her head in disbelief. "Daddy… he said he was going to _kill_ us."

"I know…"

"Then how can you say that it will work out?"

SImba shrugged. "I don't know… but we can't give up. Something is very wrong, and we need to fix it."

Kiara nodded and was silent for a while. "Thanks, Daddy." She said after long last. "I'm going to go try to sleep now."

Simba smiled. "I think that's a good idea." He watched Kiara leave the cave and let out a deep sigh once she had left. He was as lost as she was, and they were both very far from the trail. He walked out of the cave to see Hanta there, waiting for him.

"Were you _listening_ to us?"

The lion shook his head. "No Sire, only waiting for you to finish."

The king nodded, letting the issue drop. "What do you need?"

"I'd like to know what you plan on doing about this."

Simba frowned and started to walk off. "What would _you_ have me do, Hanta?"

"I don't feel like I'm the best person to be making decisions right now… I was too close to Tanai."

"I PRACTICALLY RAISED HIM! HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL?" SImba froze, realizing his outburst. "I-I'm sorry Hanta… I-"

"Don't worry, Simba… I understand." Hanta looked up to the sky. "I just don't see how he could do this to us. We loved him, we cared for him, and we taught him everything he knows. Now he's turned his back on us and is fighting alongside the same monster that took Kopa from us."

Simba flinched at the naming of Kopa, though that was exactly what he had been thinking. He let out a deep sigh of despair as he contemplated his options.

"We have to do something, Simba."

"I know… for now, place the unit on high alert. Tanai is to be considered an enemy of the Pride, though if he can be taken alive, do so."

Hanta nodded. "I think that is our best option."

"Good." Simba breathed. "If you have any other ideas to share, let me know."

Hanta nodded. "Of course."

**(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

The Outlanders reached the termite mounds by sunset and were met by Zira. Tanai was already distraught over having to hurt his family, and the desolation of the Outlands only soured his mood even more. When he saw Zira, though, he plastered on his false mask of arrogance and heartlessness and approached her willingly.

"Did everything go according to plan?" she asked bluntly.

"Yes. They were quite devastated to see me on the other side."

Zira chuckled to herself. "I'll bet. "I wish I could have seen the looks on their faces when it all sunk in."

Tanai was about to leave when Zira stopped him. "Before you leave, Tanai, there is one more thing I need to tell you."

Tanai turned back slowly to her. "What?"

"I am sending Vitani to judge your team's progress on the day after tomorrow. She will decide how well you are performing your task."

The light-maned lion nodded. "We'll be ready."

"Good. Now go to bed; you've had a long day." She said with fake care.

Tanai felt his blood boil at the sight of her false affection. There was a family out there that really _did_ care about him… or at least they _did._ Though despite his hate for the lioness, Tanai knew she was right. It _had_ been a long day filled with a lot of emotion. He needed to sleep. Maybe in the morning he would feel less suicidal.

*****Author's Note*****

**First thing, I feel really, really stupid. I realized while I was writing this that I gave two characters very similar names. Just for clarification, HANTA is Simba's replacement unit leader and Tanai's old teacher. HATRA is one of the Outlanders that Tanai has to train in his new unit. If it was confusing at all, I apologize and hope this helps.**

**Second thing is that I'm leaving for the ocean on Saturday, and I'm not sure how far I'll get before then. Hopefully I'll finish this next chapter before I leave, but there's going to be a lot in it and it might be too tight, so no promises. Either way, I'll be back Tuesday night. Be Patient please, and review lots while Im gone :)  
**

**!COMMENT AND REVIEW PLEASE!  
-Ben**


	7. Chapter 7: Evaluation

*****Chapter 7*****

*****Evaluation*****

Tanai looked over at the smiling lioness that sat at his side. Kiara's grin made his heart soar and he leaned against her comforting form as they stared across the moonlit savannah.

"Kiara, Tanai!" called a familiar voice from a nearby cave.

"Your dad is looking for us…" Tanai said quietly.

"Yea…"

"We should go see what he needs."

"Yea…"

Despite their decision to go find Simba, neither of the young lions moved.

"There you two are." The king observed as he walked out to where they sat.

"Hi, Simba." Tanai said sheepishly. "Sorry we didn't go and find you."

The golden lion didn't say anything until he had come to stand right beside his daughter. "Can't say I blame you, it would be hard to tear away from this beautiful night... especially when you have someone to share it with."

Tanai blinked and snapped his head to his King in alarm. _Did he know how he felt about Kiara?_ He looked to his King, only to see him nuzzling Nala. He breathed a sigh of relief as he realized the comment had been directed at _her_ rather than at _them_. He smiled and returned his focus to Kiara whom he realized was grinning at him again.

"Don't worry," She whispered. "He wouldn't care even if he _knew_."

Tanai nodded and nuzzled up against the lioness affectionately. He was perfectly happy here, nothing could ruin the moment. Nothing except waking up.

Tanai opened his eyes slowly in confusion. He looked around his dimly lit cave and outside to the desolation of the Outlands. He looked around for Kiara, for Simba and Nala… but they weren't there. It began to sink in that he was alone… in every sense of the word. He rose slowly and made his way from his uncomfortable cave towards the training grounds in despair.

It was a horrible thing, he decided, when his nightmare was being awake and his nighttime fantasies were all that he had to look forward to. Truthfully though, he would have preferred one of his usual nightmares to dreaming of his family. At least then he would have had some relief in waking, rather than being devastated again for his betrayal. Grief, anger, and overall despair hit him hard as he walked to begin the day's training.

He walked over to his already present team, surprised to see them all there. "Glad to see you all here." He said tiredly. "I trust that yesterday went alright even though I wasn't here?"

Hatra grinned. "Yea… It went well."

Tint giggled a little, making Tanai raise his eyebrows. "Something I should know about?"

Fila shrugged. "Hatra is just a little _full of himself_ because he managed to pin one of Shakra's better fighters."

Tanai blinked in surprise. "Well good job, Hatra. See what a little formal training will do?"

The lion nodded, unable to keep the grin from his face. "So what are we gonna do today?"

"We're going to _start_ with a run."

The group groaned as he had expected, but they took off without much more encouragement. They continued with the run for a long while until they were all gasping for air. Even Tanai was getting tired, but he preferred the physical pain to his emotional agony. It was a good distraction from the memory of meeting with his family.

From the run, they went right into the sparring drills that they were becoming quite familiar with the Outlanders. The news that Hatra had fared well against the other fighter didn't really surprise Tanai; Hatra was learning rapidly from the close attention he was receiving, as were the others. After their day back with Shakra, they were all quite glad to be back with Tanai.

"Alright, let's stop there for now." Tanai said, ending Fila and Tint's match. "Take a short break before we move into tactics."

The team sighed in relieved unison and went to go collapse exhaustedly under a nearby tree. Tanai couldn't figure out what _kind_ of tree it was due to its lack of leaves, but it _did_ provide a small amount of shade from the hot sun.

He glanced over his team as they rested, contemplating how they would fare tomorrow when Vitani came to judge them. He let himself fall deep into his thoughts and failed to notice when the team began to whisper amongst themselves. Suspicious glances at their leader eventually caught his attention, though he had no idea what they were talking about.

"Sir?" Hatra asked cautiously.

"Yes?"

"Uh, we've been hearing stories about you…"

"About what?"

Hatra was silent a moment while he seemed to second guess his question. "About you attacking another soldier the other night… and one of Zira's advisors yesterday."

Tanai nodded. "Was there a question in that?"

He blinked. "Um… No, I guess not."

"_Do_ you have a question?"

Hatra looked taken aback by Tanai's wording and stayed silent.

Fila decided to take the initiative. "Why do you treat everyone else so much differently than us?"

Tanai shrugged. He knew what she was talking about, but wanted to know what _their_ perception was. "How do I treat you differently?"

Mardok decided to speak up. "You've given us a ton of second chances and explained things instead of punishing us… But it seems like you beat other guys up on their first mistake. It just seems… _harsher_."

The rest of the team stared at Mardok worriedly, then back to Tanai to see his reaction. If the stories they heard were true, there was no telling what he would do when he was criticized like this.

Tanai just sat there, trying to figure out how to explain himself. "You all know better than I do how violence reigns around here. The only way that I am going to be taken seriously by Shakra, Zira, or anyone else, is if I establish the fact that it's dangerous to cross me."

The team looked confused. "But why don't you act like that to _us_?" Hatra asked.

Tanai grinned. "Well if you would prefer me to be nasty, I'm _sure_ I can change my ways." The look of fear that crossed their face was enough to make him chuckle slightly to himself before continuing. "The _reason_ I don't treat you all like that is because you are my responsibility to teach, train, and work with. I learned a long time ago that treating your team like dirt only makes them hate you, even if they _will_ follow your orders. If and when we get into a bad situation, I want you to _want _to watch my back, just as I'll do the same for you."

Tint looked confused. "So… you're only doing this so that we'll protect you?"

Tanai snorted amusedly. "If anyone asks, yes. But really, I _do_ care about you… all of you, even if I wasn't planning on it at first."

Hatra looked to the floor. "You cared about the Pridelanders too…"

Tanai let out a sharp growl that silenced the Outlander. "You don't know what you are talking about, Hatra." Tanai said quietly. "_Don't_ _go there_."

The lion nodded and took a step back. "Sorry, Sir."

Tanai let the remark go and looked at the rest of the group. They had all caught their breath and seemed ready to move on. "Well, enough lecture for today. Let's move into tactics; Hatra take point and everyone else fall into your fire team positions."

The outlanders groaned quietly at having to end their break, but obeyed quickly and set up a well spaced fire team rather quickly.

Tanai led them through all the different formations, movement techniques and all the little details that made the difference between a normal combat unit and an elite force. They continued into the long hours of the afternoon until every aspect was well understood and the entire team could perform everything well. Tanai was very pleased with their development as a unit; he had not thought that in just a few short days he would be able to turn a ragtag bunch of outlanders into a well disciplined unit. It was actually kind of unsettling for him that they were doing so well. He had told himself when he first started that he would only give the bare minimum, but they were clearly going a bit above that. He had supplied Zira with a new and effective weapon to use against his family. He sighed; Yet another thing to hate himself for.

Before he dismissed the group for the night, he called them together for a final meeting.

"Good job today, guys. You're really getting the hang of this." He said, managing to draw a smile or two from the team. "Tomorrow, ZIra is sending Vitani to _evaluate_ our performance, and I hope you all understand what that means." The team nodded slowly, but Tanai decided to explain anyways. "It means that you'll be on your best behavior and do your best at _everything_. Help each other out, because I won't be able to. No goofing around _at all_, we don't want her to think we're just a bunch of clowns."

"Sir?" Hatra spoke up.

"Yes?"

"Should we be worried?"

Tanai blinked. "About what?"

"Well… If Vitani thinks we're doing badly, maybe she'll disband us and send us back with Shakra…"

Horrified expressions crossed the rest of his teammates' faces, causing Tanai to chuckle. "I thought you _enjoyed_ your day back with him."

Fila shivered. "Not really, Sir. It just made us happier to be here."

"Well don't worry." Tanai continued. "Even if you guys perform _half_ as well as you did today, I couldn't see anyone pulling the plug on us. You guys are simply doing too well."

They all nodded, somewhat reassured.

"Go on, then. You're dismissed, be here tomorrow extra-early."

"Yes Sir!" they all shouted in unison, drawing a smile from their leader. He didn't like to admit it, but these outlanders were no different from his team back home. Under all the violence that had been conditioned into them since their arrival into the Outlands, they were the same.

Tanai walked off towards the outskirts of the Outlands to check some farther out places for Kopa. He stayed deep in thought, slightly disturbed by the epiphany. It was very easy for him, as a soldier, to generalize the enemy and assume they were all nasty and evil, but it just wasn't so. These Outlanders were mostly just scared and desperate creatures trying to survive, though there were those that were nasty and evil. He shook the thoughts from his head as he focused his attention on the caves that dotted the area.

He searched until the sun set with no luck. He had gone into each opening with high hopes, praying for Kopa, only to be disappointed time after time by the realization of his absence. He was starting to lose hope when he plotted a course back to his cave. Maybe Vitani was lying when she told him that Kopa was here; maybe she was just trying to mess with him.

A rustling in the bushes made Tanai drop to the ground, frozen as a log. He watched silently as an Outlander emerged from the scraggly and wiry bushes and headed back towards the common area. Tanai searched the possibilities as to why the lion was this far away from everyone else, but he couldn't think of any reasons. There was no food or water out here, nor was there any significant _anything_.

He looked to where the lion had come from, but couldn't see much in the darkening light. He was tempted to go and look to where he had come from, _maybe it was where Kopa was being held_, but it was too dark. He was too tired. There wasn't enough time. Tanai growled inwardly at the annoyance, but made a mental not as to where he was. He would come back tomorrow night, he decided.

Reluctantly, Tanai slunk silently back towards his cave, irritated with having to wait. Though he knew it was all part of it. Patience was his ally here; rushing too fast into anything was a good way to get himself killed. For now he needed to stay focused on Vitani's evaluation and try not to screw that up.

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Hatra lunged at his opponent's legs in an attempt to throw her off balance, but Tint dodged away before he could make contact. Before he could recover from his lunge, she barreled into his side, knocking him onto his back. Hatra thrust his hind legs into Tint's underside as she leapt at him, sending her sailing over him harmlessly. The fallen lion quickly rose to his feet and lunged out again at Tint.

Tanai watched in silence as his team battled it out in front of the evaluator. He thought that they were doing quite well, but it wasn't _his_ opinion that mattered. He looked over at Vitani, who was watching the match intently, though her thoughts were difficult to judge. She had been the same all morning; the lioness had paid close attention to their tactics and drills, but had said very little. Tanai couldn't figure out if this was a good thing or a bad thing, and he was starting to get a little nervous.

"I've seen enough." She said suddenly and concisely before turning away back towards the termite mounds.

Tanai watched for a moment before directing his confused team. "Continue with the rotation until I come back." With that, he trotted off behind Vitani and fell into step alongside her. He waited for her to speak, but soon it became clear that she was not going to initiate the conversation.

"Well?" he asked. Though he didn't want to be too obvious, he was _dying_ to know how well he was being rated.

She looked at him for a moment before responding. "Your team looks very good. You did a good job and I'm sure Zira will be pleased."

"_They_ did all the work, not me."

Vitani nodded slowly, choosing her words carefully. "You aren't very much like Shakra." She observed.

"No." he admitted shortly.

"Why not?" She appeared to be truly curious.

Tanai shrugged. "Trust and group cohesion isn't built on fear."

Vitani was silent a while before speaking again. "I think I misjudged you, Tanai."

"What? How so?"

"I knew you were the Pridelands' military leader, and I just assumed you would be like Shakra."

He blinked surprisedly. "You don't like Shakra?"

She shook her head hesitantly. "He makes poorly trained troops and uses them like pawns."

"I thought that was a generally accepted practice around here."

"Not by me."

Tanai was stunned at her comments. "I didn't take you as the rebellious-type, Vitani."

"I'm not." She snapped sharply. "I'll follow my orders to a tee… but that doesn't mean that I always agree with them. I'm sure _you_ of all people can appreciate the need to sometimes be a different person around different people."

He stared at her worriedly. _Was she going to tell someone about his behavior mask? _If she did, he risked losing his whole image as the 'nasty' guy.

"Don't worry," she said neutrally. "I won't mention _your_ split personality if you don't mention _mine._"

Tanai nodded. "Deal."

They walked in silence for a while longer before Tanai wound up the courage to bring up something else.

"Can I ask you a question, VItani?"

"You can ask, but I won't guarantee an answer."

"Fair enough… The night I came here, you said that your mother had Kopa… Were you telling the truth, or just messing with 'the new guy'.

The lioness looked up at him with a concerned expression. "Be careful who you ask about Kopa… people might start to question your motives for being here." She said it strangely; it clearly wasn't a threat, it almost seemed as though she was genuinely concerned for his safety.

"To answer your question," she continued. "Yes, my mother claims to have Kopa locked away somewhere, but she's only let a few select people ever see him. She's afraid that he'll escape somehow."

"But… I _watched _him die."

"She said she beat him unconscious and then made him look like he was dead. After Simba saw the body, she took him away and hid him from sight."

Tanai didn't know what to say. "So he's alive…"

"My mother insists so, but she's lied before." Vitani murmured darkly.

He stared at the lioness, examining her dark expression. There was something else that she wasn't telling him, but he resisted the urge to pry. He decided to change the subject. "What about my father?"

She shrugged. "He's around."

"Yea, he's avoiding me." Tanai responded sullenly. "What's he like?"

"He's one of mother's lesser advisors, but he generally sticks to himself. Theres not much else to say about him; he doesn't do much."

Tanai nodded appreciatively. "Thanks Vitani."

"Don't mention it… And I mean that; don't _ever_ mention to anyone that we've ever had this talk!"

He grinned. "Understood; my lips are sealed."

"Good, because if you _ever_ try to use this against me, I'll deny it _all!_"

"I'll do the same to you if you ever try to use it against me."

The gruff lioness flashed him a rare smile. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

*****Author's Note*****

**Well, here I am in a hotel at Jersey Shore… writing a fanfic for the Lion King… MLIA, lol. Anyways, I'm going to keep going with this story till the end, cause I think this is great, I'm absolutely loving how this is all coming together, and I hope you feel the same. Again though, if you feel differently, I can't know if you don't tell me!**

**Just a note regarding some concerns about Nala, as much as I love writing for her, this story really isn't about her, and any involvement on her part would be forced and come out a bit awkwardly. There are already too many characters, and adding Nala would just clutter the plot. Sorry to not include her except for some random scenes, I'm bummed about it too.**

**!REVIEW AND COMMENT!**

**-Ben**


	8. Chapter 8: Accidental Suggestion

*****Chapter 8*****

*****Accidental Suggestion*****

Tanai entered the dimly lit cave, followed by several advisors and other Outlanders. He took his seat and sat there silently while Zira discussed some unknown matter with Shakra. The lion seemed quite irritated, though he managed to hide it quite well. The rising sun gleamed through small cracks in the wall, catching the dust and illuminating the cavern. From what he could tell from the other advisors, this was a generally standard meeting. No one expected anything unusual or unforeseen to be brought up.

"Listen up!" Zira said aggressively, effectively silencing her audience. "We have been facing some heightened security in the Pridelands, and I want to know what our options are."

The advisors were silent for a while, exchanging glances at the forceful statement. "We could wait a while for them to relax their guard." Offered one lion to the side.

"And suffer without the poached food and water? I don't think so. We need to find a way to maintain access to the Pridelands without getting involved into any major conflicts."

"Why _can't_ we just launch a major attack?" asked another. "Show them that we mean business."

Zira sneered. "You _idiot!_ We can't afford to keep fighting these big battles when _they_ can recover faster than we can! It's suicidal!" She looked around her audience expectantly, though no one else came forwards with any other ideas. "Shakra!" she exclaimed suddenly. "What do _you_ propose?"

The large lion blinked. "Ma'am, I would suggest just waiting for now. We can make do with what we have now, albeit it isn't much."

The lioness growled irritably and turned away. She clearly didn't like his answer, but he seemed right.

Tanai watched the situation unfold with vague amusement. He loved to see these arrogant beasts bickering amongst themselves over a simple attack scheme. It was a simple matter of location, and these so called '_advisors'_ were scratching their heads in sheer confusion.

"Tanai!" Zira's call made his head snap to hers. "What do _you_ suggest?"

"I would suggest launching minor raids from a different side of the Pridelands. They're focused on the southern border because that is where we always attack from. A few appearances on the eastern and northern sides, and their security lines will be stretched too thin to prevent us from going in wherever we please."

Zira nodded and grinned evilly. She turned to the rest of the lions in the room. "To all of you who doubted Tanai, _this is why he's here!"_

She continued to congratulate him for his idea, but Tanai wasn't listening. He just sat there with a stone-faced expression hiding his horror. _He had helped Zira!_ This wasn't a mere training of a few lesser troops; he had _actually _supplied her with a _war strategy_ that could lead to the _fall of Priderock!_ He couldn't believe it; he hadn't even meant to say it! It just _slipped out_! It was too late now to take it back, Zira was already discussing the details of it with the others. Tanai could only watch in silent anguish as his enemies plotted the death of his family.

He sat there in silence for the duration of the meeting; he had nothing more to say. Occasionally he scanned the faces of the audience, though he only found despair in their enthusiasm. He shifted his gaze from one chuckling lion, only to notice that another was staring deep holes into him. Tanai blinked as he realized that it was his father, and took up an equal stare at him. For the first time, his father did not look away or try to escape Tanai. The older lion continued his stare and refused to back down.

For the first time, Tanai was able to look into the eyes of his father and analyze the sight. The stare that he received was unusual to say the least. It was filled with so many emotions; it was difficult to decipher any individual one.

"Alright, we've got a lot to work with now." Zira stated loudly. "You are all dismissed."

Tanai blinked and looked up from his father to see that everyone was getting up to leave. He looked to his father, thankful to see that he hadn't left yet. The older lion was heading for the exit, and Tanai bolted after him to catch up. Now was his chance to actually _talk_ to his father. There wasn't anybody to cut him off this time. He followed his father for several moments to make sure that they were alone before he stepped in front of the departing lion.

"Father?" Tanai said slowly, though he was sure of it.

The older lion stared at him coldly for a moment without speaking. "I have _nothing_ to say to you, Tanai." There was a clear and excessive amount of anger in his voice.

Tanai blinked. "I just wanted to see if it was really you…"

"I want _nothing _to do with you!" his father growled dangerously before he pulled away.

Tanai watched him leave, shocked and puzzled by his father's actions. Of all the ways he had envisioned their reunion, _that_ was certainly not one of them. His father sounded as if he _truly_ hated him, though he didn't have the slightest idea as to why.

"_Tanai."_ Hissed a sinister voice behind him.

The Pridelander turned to face Shakra who had appeared out of nowhere. He groaned inwardly at the lion's arrival. He didn't want to deal with him now. "Yes?" he asked calmly, not wanting to antagonize the already angered lion.

_ "I warned you before not to cross me."_

"I wasn't aware that I _had_."

"Don't give me that! If you think that you can just _walk in here,_ and _steal_ my position, then you have another thing coming. I will _kill _you sooner than you can make it any farther here!"

Tanai just smiled. "I would be careful of what you say; Zira seems to be a bit fonder of me than of you right now. It would be a shame to lose you because of a simple _threat_. Like it or not, Shakra, I already _am_ more important than you."

Shakra growled aggressively, but didn't make any further movements.

"Don't worry though, I don't want your position. My goals are a bit _higher_ than that."

Shakra blinked and stared at Tanai for a moment, contemplating his next move. "_Watch yourself," _he said in a near whisper._ "_You aren't the god that you think you are_._"

Tanai smiled and watched him leave. It felt good to beat the lion in a verbal fight. As soon as he left, however, Tanai's expression instantly dropped as his thoughts returned to his father. He searched his mind for any possible explanation for the hostility. He hadn't seen his father since he was a cub, and it was completely unfair for him to be treated like this. He _hadn't_ done anything!

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His uncertainties plagued his mind all day throughout the training with his team. He said little, though there wasn't much to say anyways. The Outlanders were doing very well with all the drills and needed little guidance. They must have noticed his change in behavior, but they didn't say anything. Tanai appreciated their silence; he didn't want to talk about it.

"Sir?" Hatra said hesitantly.

Tanai blinked out of his thoughts. "What?"

The Outlander gestured to the side, guiding Tanai's eyes to the approaching lioness.

"Continue with the training, I'll be back." He walked over to meet Vitani. She looked concerned as she greeted him.

"Zira wants to see you." She said quickly.

"Why?"

She frowned. "It's about your plan… she wants to start with a nasty strike from the North."

"She wants advice?"

Vitani shook her head hesitantly. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but she wants _you_ to lead the raid with your team."

A dark fear fell over the Pridelander like ice-water. It was bad enough that he gave Zira the plan, but now she wanted him to fight his own family. He was caught in between a rock and a hard place here; if he accepted the task he would never be allowed home and if he refused his safety and mission would be jeopardized.

His reluctance must have been apparent on his face because Vitani decided to give him an out. "This is completely between you and me…" she started slowly. "But _don't do it!"_

Tanai blinked. "What?"

"What she wants you to do is near impossible and _extremely_ dangerous. The gains aren't worth the danger."

Tanai stared at her for a moment. "What am I supposed to say_, I don't want to_? I doubt that would go over very well… You already gave her a great report about my team; I don't have any excuse not to."

Vitani grinned. "Actually… I kind of downplayed your team's prowess."

"Why?"

"If she knew how well you were actually doing, she would want to rush you all headlong into the Pridelands tomorrow. Tell her that you don't think your team is ready, and she _will_ agree with you."

Tanai stared at the ground. "Let's hope so… I don't feel like a suicide mission." He walked off to go meet Zira. The ground felt especially hard today, unforgiving. He was walking a fine line between spy and traitor, and any misstep would kill him one way or another. He entered Zira's cave slowly, allowing his eyes adequate time to adjust to the darkness.

"Ahhh… Tanai," purred the lioness.

"You wanted to see me, Zira?" he asked cautiously as he approached her.

"Yes. I wanted to congratulate you on your genius idea earlier today."

"Thank you… but I'm sure that's not all you wanted."

Zira smiled and walked over to him. "It seems that since it was your idea, it is only fair to give you the task of the first strike."

Tanai stood still as she spoke, making sure he heard every word she said. "Ma'am?"

"I'm giving you and your team the task of raiding Priderock from the Northern border to assassinate Simba's highest leaders."

Tanai sat frozen to the floor. He was silent for a while before responding. "You want me to sneak past the Pridelanders' security, into the core of their living area, find and kill their most powerful members, and then escape _back _through their security the entire distance back to the Outlands?"

Zira nodded. "It's so daring that they won't expect it!"

Tanai's first thought was that if he refused, another team would be sent and they would perhaps _succeed_ in the assassination, but then he thought back to his old team. They would _never_ allow something like that to happen, they were just too good.

"I like the idea, Zira… but I feel that I should respectively decline."

Her head snapped to look at him. "_What_?"

Tanai looked her in the eye, determined to make her understand his lie. "My team is doing well, but they aren't good enough _yet_ to succeed in a mission like this. We would be caught by the security as soon as we crossed the border, and if we somehow made it to Priderock, there is no way we would be able to make it back."

Zira stared at Tanai for a moment with an unpredictable look. He wasn't sure if she planned to attack him, or pat him on the back. "_Fine_." She said after what seemed like forever. "I will send one of _Shakra's_ teams."

Tanai nodded. "Thank you, Zira. Give me a couple more weeks and we will be ready for anything you need of us."

She nodded and gestured for him to leave. Tanai bowed and stepped backwards out of the darkness and into the brutal heat of the Outlands. He looked around for a moment and caught sight of Vitani disappearing around a not too far away boulder. He took off to try to catch up to her. He had questions that she needed to answer.

He raced across the dusty ground past sparring Outlanders and fighting lionesses. He turned around the boulder, only to run straight into Vitani. He managed to stop before he ran into her, but it was a close call.

"I _thought_ you were going to come after me." She said neutrally.

Tanai nodded, momentarily speechless; he hadn't expected her to be _right_ there when he came around the corner. "I've got a few questions for you."

Vitani grinned and started to walk away. "I thought so."

Tanai fell into step beside her. "Why did you warn me?"

She shrugged. "Like I said before, I don't always agree with my Mother's methods."

"You also said you would follow her orders to a tee."

She nodded. "I didn't disobey any orders by telling you my opinion, now did I?"

Tanai shrugged. "Fine, I just didn't expect you to help me like that… Thank you."

"Again… _Don't EVER mention it!_"

"I won't." He was quiet a moment while he tried to decide how to ask his next question. "Vitani… why don't you trust your mother?"

Vitani's neutral expression instantly dropped and she stared at the ground. "This is still off the records?"

He snorted. "Please, you have enough dirt on me now to keep me silent for the rest of my life."

Vitani smiled, but it vanished quickly. "Fine, but this is _above_ top secret. If Zira knew I told you this, she would kill us both."

Tanai nodded, slightly unsure as to what he was getting himself into.

Vitani took a deep breath before beginning. "I had another brother besides Nuka… His name was Kovu... Scar named him to be his heir, and Zira hatched a plan to turn him into an assassin."

Tanai blinked; he had known that Zira had a son that had died, but he didn't know about her plans for him. "That's a pretty big challenge for a cub."

"Yea… and he took it with stride. He was strong and willing to do anything mother told him to do because he wanted to make her happy. She didn't love him the way he loved her."

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "He loved her like any cub loves their parent, but _she_ loved him like he was a tool, a _weapon._ She had him train constantly on courses designed for adults and when he couldn't do it, she made him try again and again and _again_ until he collapsed."

Tanai looked at the lioness in silence. She had come to a stop and was staring at the ground, lost in her memories. "What happened?" he whispered gently.

Vitani sighed another deep sigh. "It was a _very_ hot day, and he was running on fumes. He was tired, dehydrated, undernourished, and sleep deprived, but Zira still forced him to do the obstacle course _again_ despite his pleading for a rest. To give some competition, she had me run it with him; I tried to go slow so he could get a little rest, but he collapsed halfway through anyways... He had collapsed from exhaustion before, but- but not like this. He didn't get up, he just laid there in the heat… _dying_."

Tanai felt sincere pity for both Vitani and her deceased brother. "I'm sorry." Is all he could think to say.

Vitani raised her head to its usual height. "The bottom line is that my mother should have cared for my brother and she _didn't_. She makes decisions with _complete_ disregard for everyone else's safety and tries to get the most she possibly can out of the smallest thing she has. It's wrong and it's dangerous. _That_ is why I don't trust my Mother."

Tanai nodded, having gained a new respect for the lioness. "Thanks for telling me… I know it must have been difficult."

"Yea… like I said, if anyone finds out, we're _both_ dead. My mother blamed it all on him; she said that he never told her that he needed a break."

"I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks." She turned to leave, but looked back over her shoulder. "For what it's worth, I'm glad that you aren't going on that raid."

Tanai smiled. "So am I." He watched her leave.

It had been a strange day, he decided as he headed back to the training grounds. His father hated him, Zira wanted the impossible from him, but he had seemingly gained a friend. The day hadn't been _all_ bad. Now all he had to do was get Kiara out here, and he would be good.

*****Author's Note*****

**Well I apologize for the horrendous wait, though it **_**was**_** only four days. Anyways, I hope this was a good chapter, PLEASE REVIEW!**

**I BEG OF YOU TO REVIEW!**

**-Ben**


	9. Chapter 9: Truth

*****Chapter 9*****

*****Truth*****

Night in the Outlands was colder than it was in the Pridelands. With few plants, the ground cooled faster and the cold air flowed freely in frigid gusts. Tanai could see his breath as he moved silently through the rocky terrain. He carefully retraced his steps from the night before and soon found the place where he had watched the outlander pass by. The direction from which the lion had come from was even _more_ foreboding than what Tanai had just crossed. It looked as though the stone ground had been compressed and forced upwards into jagged ridges and overhangs. Massive boulders towered over minor canyons and variously sized caves.

The Pridelander took a deep breath and trekked ahead through the perilous terrain. He moved slowly and carefully in the darkness, not wanting to lose his bearings in the unfamiliar grounds. The last thing he wanted was to get lost out here. A rustling up ahead made him freeze. Tanai crept to a ledge overlooking a large open area farther up ahead. About thirty yards away sat a bored looking lioness, batting a stick with her paw.

_A guard_, he decided quickly. There was no other reason an Outlander was this far away from the termite mounds, she _had _to be protecting something. _Kopa._ Tanai analyzed the stone structures that surrounded the open area, only to see countless caves, fissures, and overhangs. From where the guard sat she could see _all_ of them, so it was nearly impossible to tell which one in particular she was guarding. Tanai frowned at the difficulty and laid down on the ledge to watch the lioness. Maybe if he gave it enough time she would somehow reveal Kopa's location.

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The sun rose too early for Tanai. He blinked the grogginess from his eyes before leaving his cave and heading off for yet another day at the training grounds; his night's vigil still stuck in his head. He had laid on that ledge for _hours_ watching the tired lioness, and she hadn't given him _any_ clue as to where Kopa was. She spent most of the night toying with her dead stick, only occasionally glancing at the surrounding caves. When she _did_ look, she seemed to be as lost as Tanai; her eyes searched the rocks as if she was wondering the same thing he was. But that was crazy, what kind of guard didn't know what she was guarding or where it was? He shook his head irritably. He had left when the lioness had fallen asleep; he figured that he should follow her example and at least be _somewhat_ rested for the next day, though he didn't feel at all rested now.

"Good morning, Sir." Greeted Hatra. Mardok, Fila, and Tint's smiles echoed his greeting.

"Ugh." Tanai grunted back. He wasn't trying to be rude, he was just exhausted.

Fila giggled. "Long night?"

"You have no idea."

Hatra nodded understandingly. "We can go through the drills on our own if you want."

The Pridelander grinned appreciatively. "I think I'll let you do that… come get me if there's anything that you need."

"Of course."

He wandered over to the shade of a large boulder and laid down to watch his team. He was about to nod off when he saw something that woke him up like a bucket of ice water. His father was passing by, seemingly unaware of Tanai's presence.

Tanai quickly rose to his feet and took off after the older lion. He soon caught up to him behind a small termite mound. _ A decent place to have a father-son chat_ Tanai thought cynically.

"Father!" she shouted, causing the lion to stop and turn.

"I'm _not_ your father! I gave you up a long time ago, so now you can just call me Tarun!"

His words hurt, but Tanai was careful not to let it show. "I want answers." He said dangerously.

"Ha! Don't we all!"

"You _owe_ me an explanation! I don't care if you hate me; I want to know why you left me!"

Tarun was silent for a moment, though the fire in his eyes never ceased to rage. "Fine! You want to know what happened, I'll _tell_ you what happened!"

Tanai was quiet as he watched his father begin to pace angrily back and forth. He wanted to know the truth.

"I was in trouble, there was this wilderness gang led by Shakra, yes I know you've met _him_, and they wanted me to join them. They especially wanted _you_; they loved the idea of having a cub to train from birth to be their loyal follower. I brought you to Priderock to protect you; I knew Mufasa when I was young, and I had heard that Simba was just as good of a King. I left you in their care and managed to convince Shakra to leave you alone. He promised that as long as I stayed with his gang, he wouldn't pursue you."

Tanai stared at his father with his mouth agape. He was ready for a lot of stories, but _this_ was not one of them. "How did you end up with Zira?"

Tarun growled and continued to pace. "When Zira was exiled, she offered Shakra his current position as her military leader and I had to follow him. I was wounded in a battle, and since then I've been one of Zira's minor advisors."

"Y-you're only here because of me?"

"Yes, Tanai!" Tarun yelled angrily. "I sacrificed my freedom and morality so that _you_ could grow up in the Pridelands safely and with a loving family! I've come to _HATE_ you because you've thrown it ALL away! You betrayed _EVERYONE_ that ever cared for you, and joined _exactly_ what I was trying to save you from!"

Tanai was silent as he came to grips with what his father's story. "Simba always told me that you had a good reason for doing what you did… I never figured that the reason was _me_."

"Well _now_ you know." Tarun sneered.

"I have something to tell you too, father."

"I _told _you _not_ to call me that!"

Tanai ignored the comment and continued. "I-I'm not a traitor… just a liar. And apparently I'm pretty good at it."

The older lion narrowed his eyes. "What are you saying?"

Tanai took a deep breath, hoping to god that his father would understand. I could _never_ betray Simba… but in order for me to help my family, I have to make everyone think that I _have_."

The fire of anger in Tarun's eyes were replaced by the mists of confusion and the slight, almost imperceptible glimmer of hope.

"Zira has someone that I _need_ to find, and I couldn't do that as her prisoner… I have to play this part if I want to save him."

"You… _you're a spy?"_

"Kind of…"

The two lions stared at each other for several moments in complete silence; even her breathing had been forgotten as they stared into each other's eyes. In a sudden blur, Tarun lunged out at his son. Initially it seemed to be an attack, but as the lion's paws wrapped around Tanai's body it became clear that it was a hug.

"I-I'm sorry, _Son_." Tarun whispered. "I didn't know."

Tanai nodded. "I'm sorry too."

The reunited father and son held the embrace tightly in the cool morning air, neither wanting to release the other. Eventually though, it had to end. They soon began the expected conversation of their lives since they had last seen each other. Tarun was thrilled to hear about his son's life at Priderock and Tanai was more than willing to share his story. Slowly they began to touch on the more recent events.

"Vitani said that Kopa is somewhere around here, and I found this guarded spot not too far away."

"Kopa?" Tarun asked hesitantly.

Tanai nodded. "Yea, he's the guy I'm looking for."

His father stared at him for a moment before responding. "Son… Kopa is _dead_."

"No, Zira tricked everyone-"

"No, I'm sorry… but he's dead. You were deceived."

Tanai was confused. "What are you talking about?"

Tarun sighed. "Zira wanted the best of both worlds. She wanted the satisfaction of killing the poor cub _and_ the perks of having the prince as her prisoner. She killed him, and told everybody that she hadn't."

"But… but what's the point of everyone just _thinking_ that he's alive. She can't use him if he's dead."

"Morale."

"What?"

Tarun nodded sullenly. "When everything else is hell, that's her card of choice. It keeps up their spirits to think that Kopa is their prisoner."

Tanai was shaking his head in sheer denial. It was as if he was losing his friend all over again. "How do you-"  
"I was the one Zira chose to organize the whole charade. She had already killed him when she came to me." The grief and remorse shown in his words; the older lion was clearly appalled by his part in the whole thing.

"But what about-"

"The guarded caves?" he nodded understandingly. "Every night a random Outlander is sent out there to guard 'Kopa's Prison'. They're told that he's in one of the caves, but they can't be allowed to know which one. It's just another way Zira perpetuates the lie and makes it believable. I'm sorry."

Tanai nodded slowly, wiping a tear from his eye. "I-I just was really starting to think that he was alive… I thought that I was going to see him again."

"That's how Zira works."

"What do you mean?" he asked quizzically.

"She finds out what people want, then makes them dependant on her for whatever that is. Shakra wanted power, you wanted Kopa, some want food, others want safety for their loved ones. Zira promises it all and then delivers, which is more than can be said for most leaders."

Tanai shrugged. "She found my desire."

Tarun nodded. "What are you going to do now that you know the truth?"

It was a good question, now that he knew Kopa wasn't here and had found his father, there was little reason to stay. The thought of leaving made Tanai feel a bit lighter; going home to see Kiara, to see Simba and everyone else just seemed too good to be true. But in truth, he didn't really know how to go about it. Just leave maybe? Or maybe he should plan something more elaborate.

"I don't know yet… I'll think about it."

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Tanai watched his team without really watching them; they were doing great and needed little guidance from him. He was still contemplating what his father had said about Zira finding people's desires, and it made him wonder about his team.

"Alright." He called to them. "That's enough sparring. Come over here and take a break."

The Outlanders nodded appreciatively and laid down not too far from where Tanai sat.

He didn't want to ask them straight out what their lives' stories were, but he had an idea to get them to talk. "You know," he began slowly. "You can know everything there is to know about fighting and still do poorly when something big comes up."

Hatra frowned. "How? If you know everything, what's to stop you?"

"Yourself." Tanai replied. "This is completely off the records by the way. No one will ever know that we had this talk, but you need to know what you fight for."

Tint blinked. "What we fight for?"

"Yes. I want to know why you are here. What motivates you all to be soldiers?"

The group exchanged uncertain glances, clearly surprised by the unusual question. Tint was the first to speak.

"Before my mother died… I promised her that would find a pride and settle down. I'm a soldier because that's the rent that Zira charges."

Tanai nodded empathetically and looked to the others.

"I'm here because of _him_." Mardok said as he gestured to Hatra.

The other lion nodded. "And I'm here because of Mardok. We watch each other's backs and that's a lot easier to do here than in the wilderness."

Fila stared at the ground. "I just have nowhere else to go." She said quietly.

Tanai smiled at his team. He was grateful that they had shared their stories so willingly. "So that's why you all fight for Zira." He muttered.

"No Sir." Hatra replied. "Zira can burn in hell for all I care. We fight for each other… and for _you_."

It took a moment for Tanai to really understand what the fighter had said. "Zira is my _boss_; her orders and my orders."

Tint shook her head. "We don't care. _You_ are the only one that's every actually cared about us more than just as soldiers."

Fila nodded in agreement. "The orders may be the same, but the fact that they came from _your_ mouth makes a big difference."

Tanai just stared at them, genuinely struck speechless by their loyalty. To his relief, Hatra broke the silence. "Should we continue the drills Sir?"

He blinked, his words returning Tanai's mind back to earth. "No, you guys have done enough today. You're dismissed." He watched with a new sense of pride as his team left. He had always assumed that no matter what, an Outlander would remain loyal to Zira, but clearly that wasn't the case. It made him feel good to know that he may have truly made a difference in their lives. He kept thinking about it all the way back to his cave.

He was about to lie down when a voice to his side made him jump.

"Tanai."

He looked sharply over to see Vitani sitting in the corner. _He must have walked right past her without noticing_.

"What are you doing in my cave, Vitani?" he asked slowly.

"Something's happened." She said neutrally.

Tanai groaned. The day had been going so well and now some pesky affair was going to ruin it all. "What is it?" he asked exasperatedly.

"One of the raids came back today…"

"Severe casualties?" he guessed, knowing well how Shakra liked to throw troops blindly at the enemy.

"No… they captured a prisoner."

Tanai froze. Maybe this was more significant than he thought it would be. "_Who?_"

"The Princess."

Tanai's heart seemed to stop in shock from her words. "_Kiara_" he whispered quietly.

*****Author's Note*****

**Another long wait that I'll apologize for again. Unfortunately my chapters will probably take longer for me to write; my lazy summer is ending and football practice is starting so I'm not going to have much time to write.**

**I hope you liked this chapter, a LOT happened and I hope it wasn't too rushed or confusing. I'm not really sure how I feel about the dialogue, so any comments regarding that would be appreciated. As always, COMMENT AND REVIEW PLEASE!**

**-Ben**


	10. Chapter 10: Kiara

*****Chapter 10*****

*****Kiara*****

Tanai stared at Vitani in horror. Surely she didn't, _couldn't_ mean Kiara. No, Kiara was safe back at Priderock, away from all this craziness. It just wasn't possible, but then again… what other _princess_ could she have meant?

"Are you alright?" Vitani asked.

"Uh, yea… I'm fine." He stuttered unconvincingly. "Just repeat that last thing again."

The lioness shrugged. "One of the raids captured Princess Kiara near the Northern Border. She's being held near the cell that you were originally kept in."

Tanai's desperate hopes that it _wasn't_ Kiara came crashing down to despair. _How could he have let this HAPPEN?_ "I want to see her." He said quietly, having recovered from the initial shock.

Vitani blinked. "I don't know if my Mother is allowing-"

"I don't _care_ what Zira is allowing, I'm going to see her." He replied adamantly as he exited his cave and headed towards the prison caves.

"Why do you want to see her so badly?" Vitani asked quizzically as she fell into step alongside him.

Tanai grinned as evilly as he could to try to hint to something more sinister than his true desire. "I just want to see how my old _friend_ is doing."

Vitani shot him a worried look, but led him to the cave without another word. Two lions guarded the entrance and parted to allow the visitors through. They followed the snaking tunnel in the dimness and came to another guard of two lions. Behind them, Tanai could make out the vague form of a young lioness lying on the ground of a larger chamber. _Kiara!_ He thought desperately, though he was careful not to show any emotion.

"We're here to see the Princess." Vitani told the guards assertively.

The two lions exchanged glances and allowed the two visitors to pass.

Tanai approached Kiara with Vitani and the two guards at his side. _Not the best opportunity to explain things._ He knew that he was going to have to keep up the charade a little while longer if he was going to get to talk to her alone.

Their approaching footsteps drew the lioness' attention and she stood to face her visitors. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of Tanai. "_YOU!"_ she hissed angrily. "I hoped that I would _never_ see you again!"

Tanai nodded unemotionally. "The desire was mutual."

She stared angrily at him for a moment as he came to stand a few feet away from her. "What do you _want_ from me?"

Tanai shrugged casually. "_Zira_ will undoubtedly have her own uses for you, but what _I_ want is just some simple information."

She snorted amusedly. "I won't tell you _anything!_" she spat.

Tanai nodded, but continued as if he hadn't heard her remark. "Where is Simba keeping the main body of the Unit?"

Kiara took a step forward, placing her head hardly an inch from Tanai's face. "_You can BURN in HELL, Tanai."_

Tanai's mind raced for a split second as he made his decision. It would take every bit of his will to carry out his choice, but he had to do it. It would be the last thing he would ever have to do to his family. He struck out at her. In a flash, Tanai struck the lioness that he cared so deeply for; it tore his heart apart, but he knew he had to do it. As he hit her across her face, he swept her back leg and sent her to the ground. She fell fast and Tanai quickly pinned her shoulders with his paws and glared into her eyes. He saw the fear and betrayal in her eyes as tears began to flow down her cheeks. She may have known that Tanai was following Zira, but she still hadn't expected him to _attack_ her. It was just too much, even for him.

Tanai tore himself from his dear friend and walked over to the shocked Outlanders. "Leave us." He hissed quietly. "_Now_!"

"Sir…" began one of the guards before he cut him off.

"Wait outside with the other guards until I come out." He ordered sternly.

The two lions nodded reluctantly and started off down the tunnel.

Vitani just looked at Tanai worriedly. "Don't do anything _stupid_." She warned him before following the guards outside.

Tanai looked back to Kiara who lay on the ground sobbing. It broke his heart to see her like this; it was all his fault. As soon as he was sure that the Outlanders were out of earshot, he rushed to her side.

"Kiara… I'm so sorry."

She looked up at him with teary eyes. "I don't know what I ever saw in you… you're a _monster_!"

Her words stung him even more than his father's professed hate. He _needed _her to understand; if she didn't, none of it would be worth it. "Kiara… I'm sorry, but I _had_ to join them!"

She shook her head in despair. "You can't tell me that you _had_ to. It was a _choice_, and you made it."

"This is all a mask, Kiara!" he pleaded. "I couldn't let them see the _real_ me! I couldn't let them see that I care about you!"

She looked at him angrily. It was clear that she had given up hope a long time ago of there being such an explanation. "I _trusted_ you! I thought we were going to be _together_!"

"You don't understand! We still _can_ be together!"

"What don't I understand, Tanai? Maybe you can explain to me why you joined the same killer that _killed_ _KOPA_!"

"THEY TOLD ME KOPA WAS ALIVE!" He shouted.

Kiara blinked in shock. "What?"

Tanai sighed exasperatedly. "They told me that Zira had Kopa prisoner… and I _had_ to find out if it was true."

Kiara stared at him. "He's not alive… he died."

Tanai nodded. "Yea… I know that _now,_ but I couldn't just _leave_ without being sure." He turned to Kiara sadly. "I know that you hate me… and that you'll probably never forgive me, but please try to understand… I did this for our family."

She just stared at him in amazement. "Y-you said that Zira could give you everything you wanted…"

Tanai shook his head. "No! She offered me the throne once we overthrew your father and I accepted it… but I don't want it! It was all just a big _charade_ so that I could look for Kopa!"

It may have just been wishful thinking, but Tanai swore that he saw a slight gleam of hope in Kiara's eyes.

"Kiara… it is _hell_ here. The thought of returning home to you and everyone else is the only thing that's been keeping me going." He paused for a moment. "I've missed you more than you can imagine."

Kiara was speechless as she rose to her feet. "You're not lying... you're serious."

Tanai nodded slowly, unsure of what she was going to do.

_ "I've missed you too!" _ She cried as she lunged into him.

Tanai caught her and held her tightly, thanking the kings for her understanding.

She buried her head into his shoulder and let loose some relieved tears. "Everyone thought you had left us… We thought you meant what you said when you came to see us. You looked so _angry!"_

Tanai nodded. "Lying to all of you was the hardest thing I've ever done… next to hitting you."

She looked up at him. "Yea… that kind of hurt."

"I'm sooo sorry! They wouldn't have left if I hadn't done it, it broke my heart to see you like that and-"

"Tanai…" she cut him off. "I understand." A lick to his cheek verified her forgiveness.

"Thank you." He whispered back. "I'm going to get you out of here."

She pulled away and looked him in the eye. "How? You _may_ be a big shot around here, but they're not going to let you do much."

"It's okay, I've got some help… I think."

"Who?"

Tanai smiled. "My father for one."

Kiara blinked. "Your _Dad _is here? What's he like?"

"He's the dad I always hoped he would be. He left me to protect me."

Kiara smiled. "I'm glad you found him… but that's still only one other lion against Zira's entire army."

"I've got a team of my own… and I _might_ be able to get them to help me."

The look on her face was doubtful. "You're going to try to get some of _Zira's_ soldiers to turn on her? What if it backfires?"

He shook his head. "They aren't as loyal to her as you would think; they aren't all that bad either. A lot of them are here by necessity rather than desire."

She nodded, clearly nervous. "Please hurry, Tanai. I'm _scared_."

The lion pulled her into a tight hug and licked her cheek. "I know… I won't let anything happen to you, I'm going to get you out of here."

A sound from the tunnel behind him reminded Tanai of their time constraints. It wouldn't be long before one of the guards or Vitani came to check on what was taking so long. "I'll be back." He whispered before pulling away.

Kiara nodded and watched him leave with a slight expression of sadness on her face. She didn't want to say goodbye so soon.

Tanai took a deep breath and marched down the tunnel, preparing to use his 'Outlander mask' again. The ground was cool and unforgiving on his tired feet, but he felt lighter than he had in forever. _She understood!_ It was a good day; that is, as long as he managed to get her out of here safely.

"Well, well, Tanai…" a raspy voice said from behind him.

Tanai blinked. He hadn't passed anyone in the cave, but someone was clearly back there. He turned to see Vitani staring at him neutrally. "Vitani?" he asked.

"You've got more of a _'split-personality'_ than I thought you had."

His gut seemed to freeze solid in horror as he realized what she had been doing. _She had been listening to them. He was dead._

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Priderock was a mess. Tanai's treachery was bad enough, but Kiara's capture was a humbling blow. Simba was a complete mess with indecision. _What should he do?_ He paced back and forth tensely outside the main cave, a cool breeze rustling his mane. What _could _he do? He sighed exasperatedly and let out a deep and aggravated growl that scared up a few nearby birds. The release made him feel a little better, but his daughter was still gone. He couldn't fix _that_ with a roar.

"Simba…" came a feminine voice from the cave.

The king turned sharply to see his mate walking over to him. "Nala… I don't know what to do." He said meekly.

The lioness nodded her tear stained face. "Don't worry… We'll get her back."

Simba reached out and nuzzled her assuringly. "You're right… We'll get her back. I don't care if I have to fight every Outlander singlehandedly, I _will find_ her."

Nala nodded appreciatively. "Now _there's_ the lion I married. I was beginning to think that you had given up."

"_Never."_

"Glad to hear it; now go get our daughter _back_."

Simba nodded and started off down to the base of the great rock to find Hanta. He walked with a new sense of determination; he knew what he was going to do.

Hanta was discussing some unrelated events with a team leader when Simba came around the corner. "We'll finish this later." He concluded before falling into step alongside the king. "Have you made a decision Sir?"

Simba nodded. "Leave an adequately sized team at Priderock and mobilize the rest of the unit at the southern border."

"Right across from the Outlands?" Hanta asked suprisedly.

He nodded. "Set up farther back from the border and place concealed outposts closer to watch for any advancement. If we're lucky, our presence alone will make them turn over Kiara out of fear."

"And if it _doesn't_?" Hanta asked hesitantly.

"Then we'll _escalate _the situation." Simba said darkly.

Hanta nodded and broke of from Simba's side to organize the mobilization. The look in Simba's eye made it clear that he was serious. If they didn't get Kiara back peacefully, he _would_ resort to violence.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Tanai stared at the lioness with fear gripping his throat. If _Vitani_ knew, then she would undoubtedly tell _Zira_, and he would undoubtedly _die_. Kiara would remain their prisoner _or worse_, and his family would always remember him as the traitor that he made them think he was. It was _over_, and he knew it. Nevertheless, he tried to act as though he hadn't done anything though he knew it was useless. "What are you talking about?" he asked, fear inevitably seeping into his voice.

The lioness shrugged. "I heard the whole thing… how you were only here for _Kopa_, and how you've been playing us all for fools. You've been playing a dangerous game here, Tanai."

The Pridelander was frozen with fear. _She knew._ Horror enveloped him; he couldn't breathe. "I'll deny it all." He said as strongly as he could.

Vitani nodded slowly. "You won't have to."

Tanai binked. "What? Why not?"

The lioness walked up to him slowly. "I'm not going to tell anyone, Tanai."

_It was a trick… it had to be_. "What? You're Zira's daughter, you would turn on your own mother?"

Vitani shrugged. "Like you said, '_We aren't all bad.'_ Besides… you know how I feel about her." Her eyes didn't lie. "I'm _tired_ of this whole thing… of this war, of this lifestyle, of my mother and all her followers, of_ everything_. I don't want her to win any more than you do, she'll destroy the Pridelands in the same way that Scar did. I want to help you get Kiara out of here."

Tanai was dumbstruck for what felt like the thousandth time that day. He stared at her for a while in silcence, trying to find some excuse to not believe her. He found nothing; her face held a determined expression that he had never seen before. It was as if he was seeing the _true_ Vitani for the first time.

"Alright…" he said after a while. "Thank you."

She smiled. "Don't mention it… _ever_."

The daylight blinded the two as they exited the dark cave into the hot sun. Tanai turned to the guards. "Watch _her_ closely." He said dangerously.

The intimidated guards nodded nervously and ran off to resume their posts, fearful of the Tanai's supposed vengeance. The two rebellious lions walked in silence past other Outlanders who were clearly thrilled with their new prisoner. It was sickening to Tanai the joy some of them had to have such a harmless captive. It wasn't as if they had taken a dangerous enemy from the other side, they had captured the _princess!_ It seemed just… dishonorable. Once they were relatively alone, Vitani resumed their conversation.

"Do you have any idea as to _how_ to get Kiara out of there?" she asked him.

Tanai shook his head. "I'm working on it… I need to find out how many people I have to work with."

"Who else besides me and you?"

"My team."

Vitani frowned. "Are you sure that you can trust them? What if they tell someone?"

"Trust me, they won't. Even if they won't help, they _won't _rat us out."

She sighed. "I hope that you're right… for both of our sakes."

*****Author's Note*****

**This chapter was really fun to write; I loved how the whole Tanai/Kiara and Tanai/Vitani conversations played out. Talk to me; let me know if you agree!  
REVIEW AND COMMENT!**

**-Ben**


	11. Chapter 11: Plans

*****Chapter 11*****

*****Plans*****

Tanai looked at his team that stood before him. It hadn't taken him long to find them all and get them together. Now they waited patiently for him to explain why he had gathered them on such short notice. He was alone with the Outlanders; he was careful to pick a secluded spot that had given them poor chances of being overheard. Even Vitani had left; she might make his team a bit uncomfortable and besides, Tanai needed to get his father in on the plan. As the lioness went off in search of the older lion, Tanai contemplated how best to explain the situation to the others.

"Thanks for getting organized so quickly, guys." He began, stalling for time.

"No problem…" Hatra responded. "What's this all about?"

"We have- _I_ _have_ a mission of sorts."

Their eyes instantly widened with a mix of excitement and worry. "What does Zira want us to do?" Fila asked hesitantly.

"Is it about the Princess?" questioned Tint.

Tanai took a deep breath before speaking again. "It is about Kiara… but it's not from Zira. It's from me."

Mardok blinked. "You mean that Zira doesn't know about this?"

Tanai shook his head. "I mean that if Zira knew about this '_mission,'_ myself and a few others would be _dead_ before nightfall." He stopped for a moment to analyze their expressions before continuing. "With that being said, anyone who doesn't want anything to do with this… you should leave now."

The Outlanders exchanged concerned glances, but didn't move. "Are we talking _treason?_" Hatra asked slowly.

Tanai nodded. "Full and complete treason."

Tanai had anticipated a lot of different things from his team, but the anger that crossed Hatra's face was _not_ one of them. "What, you just got _tired_ of this place so you figured you'd just go back to Priderock? Good god Tanai, you change your colors faster than a chameleon!"

"It may be hard to believe, but my allegiance has never changed. Priderock is my home and I would do _anything_, even make them think I was a _traitor_, in order to keep them safe."

"You're a _spy?"_ Tint asked surprisedly. "You _lied _to us?"

"Let me explain…"

"Please do!" Hatra exclaimed, clearly distraught over the revelation.

Tanai frowned and took a deep breath before continuing. "I came here to find my friend, and I knew that I was going to have to do some things to make Zira believe that I had really turned on my family. I thought she was going to give me her best and most ruthless fighters to make this unit, but instead, Shakra gave me _you_ all. As he thought, the _worst_ he had to offer me.

Mardok glared at the ground, clearly not liking how the whole thing was going. The others were also not pleased with being reminded of their status as the 'lesser' fighters.

Tanai paused, unsure what to say next. "What he thought was _weakness_, was really _strength_, and I am proud to have been your leader. I didn't think that I was going to make any friends out here, but you changed my mind."

Tint snorted. "You may be our _friend_… but _treason?" _The others nodded in agreement; it was just too much.

"I want you all to think about this, it's _your_ decision to make and yours alone." Tanai said calmly. "Personally, I think that you all deserve better than this. Shakra doesn't care about you, and neither does Zira. You are _all_ superior to any other Outlander out here, both _physically_ and _morally_. I'd want you on my team back at Priderock… that is, if you wanted to be."

The Outlanders were quiet as they contemplated the offer. "What if Simba doesn't accept us?" Hatra asked slowly.

"Simba is a good king. He _will_ be fair and understanding to your situations."

The lion nodded and returned his gaze to the ground. Tint seemed to be satisfied, but hurt. "But… why did you _lie_ to us?"

Tanai sighed, embarrassed at the question. "I didn't know until today how you all felt about me as your leader… I always thought that you would stay loyal to Zira. I feel bad for not trusting you, but I wasn't sure until now."

Her look of dismay was expected, but it still hurt Tanai to know that he had lied to them. After all, they had placed their complete trust in _him,_ and he hadn't done the same back. "But you should know, I haven't been changing myself around you. I put a mask on for the rest of the pride, but here… Here, you are seeing me for who I really am."

They were all quiet again, each deep in their own thoughts. Tanai was just beginning to worry about their choice when Hatra raised his head from his downward gaze. He nodded slowly. "I don't like that you lied to us… but I meant what I said before. I fight for _you_, Tanai, not Zira, Shakra, or anyone else. What mission do you have for us?"

The other Outlanders' slowly lightened their expressions as they thought about Hatra's words. At the end of the day, though Tanai may have deceived them, he was _still_ their leader and _still_ better than anyone else in the Outlands. "We'll follow you." Tint said quietly. The others nodded in agreement.

Tanai smiled at their resolve, truly inspired by their loyalty. "Thank you… all of you." He said softly as he looked them over. They had come a long ways from the first day he had met them. "As I said before, this _is_ about the Princess."

"We're going to get her out of here, aren't we?" Mardok asked, a grin creeping across his face.

Tanai nodded. "Yes, she's very important to a lot of good people, and Zira is only going to hurt her."

Tint giggled. "You _like_ her, don't you!"

"More than she knows, but that's beside the point." He said with a grin.

A look of fear crossed Hatra's face while Tanai was in mid-sentence. "Uh, Sir!" he said urgently as he gestured to an area behind his leader.

Tanai looked back, fearful of an eavesdropper, only to see Vitani and his father approaching. "Don't worry," he explained to his team as the two others came to sit at his side. "They're both going to help us… I hope." He said hopefully as he looked to his father.

Tarun smiled at his son. "I can't fight, but I'll do whatever you need me to do."

Tanai nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, Dad."

"Okay, guys, this is very _heartwarming_, but can we get on with this plan?" Vitani asked impatiently.

Tanai smiled and nodded at her bluntness. "Alright then, let's get down to work. Vitani, you're kind of in charge of Kiara's security aren't you?"

The lioness nodded. "I've been setting up the guard shifts and some other stuff."

"Can you get _us_ to be the guards?"

"Yes… but I think it would be a bit suspicious if _you_ were one of them, Tanai. I could probably pull it off by saying that you wanted your team to get some experience with prisoner control or something."

Tanai nodded, somewhat disappointedly. He wanted to be there when they got Kiara out; but she was right, it _was too _suspicious. "Okay. There's four guards total right? Can you schedule Hatra, Tint, Mardok, and Fila for tonight?"

"The shifts last for two and a half hours, so I can probably put them on for around midnight to two in the morning."

"Does that sound good to you guys?" Tanai asked his team.

The Outlanders nodded in agreement. "Should we just get her out as soon as we get in there?" Hatra asked.

"No…" Vitani replied slowly, thinking it through as she went. "Wait a little while, just to make sure that no one is coming back." She turned to Tarun as if she had another idea. "Tarun, you're an advisor…"

The older lion nodded. "Yes, I am. What did you have in mind?"

"You could be kind of our lookout and stop anyone that might be passing by. Since you're one of my Mother's advisors, they would _have _to listen to you…"

Tarun nodded. "I could distract them with a job or something."

"Something to get them away from _us_ while we're getting out." Tanai added. "Once we actually get Kiara out of the prison caves, we're going to need to get past the sentries on the perimeter."

"Do you want to take them out?" Fila asked quizzically.

"Not if we don't have to." Tanai responded. "Father, do you think you could lure some of them away with something?"

Tarun grinned and nodded. He seemed to already have something figured out.

"Once we're in the Pridelands, we _should_ be home free." Tanai continued. "We'll probably be found by a patrol before we get to Priderock, but that's our goal. If anyone gets separated, head for Priderock and we'll meet up there. Questions?"

The Outlanders all shook their heads; it was a pretty simple plan in theory. Time alone would prove its true simplicity.

**(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Kiara stared at the wall from the cold stone floor, her mind buzzed with countless emotions that swirled around her head in an indescribable feeling. She was scared out of her mind about being a prisoner; she knew it was only a matter of time before Zira decided to do something with her. But besides that, she was unbelievably relieved to know that Tanai wasn't really the traitor that everyone thought he was. Whether or not he would be able to help her was another thing completely.

She sighed deeply and rolled onto her side. Being a prisoner was _not_ what she had expected it to be. There was _way_ more waiting than she had thought there would be. The not-knowing was killing her, as was the boredom. There was no sense of time in the cave, but she judged from the guards' attitudes that it was getting late. They were yawning a lot and occasionally complaining to each other about their tiredness. _It was annoying_, she thought bitterly. If she was to be held here against her will, the least they could do is whine less when they were around her.

She lay there on the cold ground for a long while, alone with her thoughts and emotions. She was just nodding off to sleep when the guards changed out with a new pair of lions. _ At least these ones weren't as chatty._

Her dream was anxious to say the least. She kept thinking that Zira was coming for her, but when she looked up with half conscious eyes, she saw the guards just where they were when she had last check. The dream kept recurring over and over again until the poor lioness just gave up on trying to sleep. She looked over at the guards' post a final time, expecting them to be where they had been all night. To her horror, they were approaching her quickly. Kiara rose to her feet in a flash, not really knowing what she was going to do. If they were going to take her to Zira, there wasn't much she was going to be able to do.

"What do you want?" she hissed as they came to a stop a few feet in front of her.

The guard exchanged glances with the lioness at his side. "We're here to get you out." He said quietly.

The princess blinked. "Sorry, but could you say that again?"

The Outlander smiled. "My name is Hatra, this is Fila. We're going to go meet up with Tint, Mardok, Tanai, Vitani, and Tarun and get out of here. Was _that_ clear enough for you?"

Kiara remained skeptical. "How do you know Tanai?"

"He's our team leader." He said concisely. "Now let's go." The supposed guards turned their backs and started towards the cave's exit as Kiara just watched with a blank stare. "Are you coming or not?" Hatra whispered over his shoulder at the frozen lioness.

Kiara shook the doubts from her head and trotted off behind the Outlanders. It felt weird for her to simply walk out of the prison so… easily. She had at least expected some sort of resistance; a fight or something. But then again, she knew Tanai, and he would _never_ just rush into a situation like this without a plan.

They stopped at the final guard post before completely exiting the tunnel. The two other guards looked around for a moment before waving them on.

Fila turned to Kiara. "We're going to have to move _fast_ over to those boulders." She said as she gestured to a rocky outcrop not too far away. "From there we'll explain things a little more."

Kiara nodded and got ready to move. At the signal of the other two guards, Kiara, Hatra, and Fila rushed silently across the ground and into the protection offered by the rocks. They dove behind the nearest stone and almost ran headfirst into Tanai and Vitani.

"Tanai!" Kiara whispered excitedly as she lunged forward to nuzzle him under the chin.

Fila giggled as Tanai returned the affection with a lick before pulling away. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

She nodded. "Fine, just a little stiff from lying down all day. How are we going to get out of here? And what is _she_ doing here?" she asked as she took notice of Vitani.

Tanai looked embarrassed, but the Outlander just grinned. "She's helping us, don't worry."

"She's Zira's daughter!"

Vitani shrugged. "Not by choice, I assure you."

Kiara shook her head irritably but did not press the issue further. "What do we do now?"

"Now we have to make it past the sentries, and after that we should be able to get into the Pridelands without any problem."

"Well then what are we waiting for?"

"The signal."

"From who?"

Hatra looked over to her from his position on the edge of the outcrop. "From _him."_ he said as he pointed to an old lion standing out in rather plain sight. As Kiara watched he nodded his head. "That's the signal, we're good to go."

Tanai nodded. "Then let's go." With that, the group headed silently off towards the river that separated the Outlands from the Pridelands. They stuck to the shadows and the low areas, using the environment as natural camouflage. It was slow and tedious movement, but it kept them out of sight. Occasionally an outlander would walk past them, but all they had to do was to freeze in place. Once the threat had left, they continued on.

Eventually, after much tension and stealth, the united group of Outlanders and Pridelanders found their way to the border. The log bridge that fell across the river was guarded by a pair of lions who looked extremely bored.

"How are we going to deal with them?" Kiara whispered.

"Just wait and see." Vitani answered quietly.

Within a few moments, Tarun emerged from the brush and approached the two sentries. Immediately the lions stood a little straighter and tried to look a bit more… professional.

"Hello sir." They said politely.

Tarun nodded, but otherwise ignored their greeting. "There were some signs of possible intruders on the other side of the termite mounds. I'm moving you from here to over there just to be safe."

"But sir…" protested the first lion. "What about here?"

Tarun shook his head irritably as if it was a stupid question. "I'll stay here for now. There's another shift coming soon and I'll pass it off to them."

The outlanders nodded begrudgingly and headed off into the darkness, clearly annoyed with being transferred. Tarun watched them leave and made sure they were gone before waving towards the bushes where they were hiding.

Tanai nodded to his team and they emerged from the foliage and made their way towards the log bridge.

"Well that went pretty well." Whipered Vitani. "I doubt anyone has even noticed that we've left."

Tanai nodded. "If Mardok and Tint stayed at their post for a while, no one should have thought anything different."

"They _are_ coming with us, aren't they?" the lioness asked slowly.

"Of course. They're just staying at the mouth for a little while so no one looks to the cave and sees no guards. Actually, they _should _be meeting up with us any moment now." As if on cue, the two Outlanders emerged from a bush to the side.

"Good to see you, we were starting to worry." Vitani said quietly as they started to cross the bridge into the Pridelands.

Mardok smiled. "It was a little tough to catch up with you, but we managed fine."

Tanai watched as his friends crossed the bridge one by one. Everything was going flawlessly; far better than what he had feared. He looked to Kiara, who only smiled to him before she went across. Tanai smiled back and followed suit.

Once on the other side, the group just went straight forward across the dark savannah. They all had a sense of pure jubilation and the air seemed to be alive with electricity. _They were free!_ Tanai stole a backwards glance at the Outlands, hardly fifty yards away, but still. It was _away_, they were in the _Pridelands!_ It was a liberating feeling that seemed to lift Tanai up so he was merely floating above the ground. All the pain, all the hardships, everything… it was over. He looked over to Kiara and remembered how he had wished that he had spent more time with her while he had been able to. He silently vowed to not make the same mistake again.

"Kiara?" he said softly enough to remain unnoticed from the others.

"Yes?" she answered in an equally quiet tone.

He took a deep breath before continuing. "I think we made a mistake before."

She blinked. "What? Being together?"

"No, putting off being together. While I was in the Outlands, the thing I regretted most was not having spent more time with you."

Kiara smiled and nodded. "You want to get back together?"

Tanai couldn't help but smile. "I think we were already _kind_ of back together, but… Kiara, I think I _love_ you."

The princess blinked surprisedly and stared at him for a moment in silence.

Tanai got nervous for a moment. "Well? Say something…" he begged her.

Kiara smiled. "I love you too." She said quietly. "I just never really realized it until now."

The Pridelander grinned widely and leaned into hid love to nuzzle her. She purred softly and returned the affection with a lick to his cheek.

"_Tanai!"_ hissed Vitani from the front of the group.

Tanai looked up sharply to see the others frozen with fear. Up ahead in the silver moonlight, Tanai could see the shapes of a group of lions. At first he thought them to be Pridelanders, but he soon noticed their somewhat ragged appearance. Slightly malnourished, unmotivated, and just sinister in general; they were clearly outlanders.

"Hello everyone." A familiar voice hissed. Tanai looked to see Zira emerging slowly from the ranks of her followers. "Taking a midnight stroll are we?"

Tanai stared in shock. "How did you find us?" he asked astonishedly; the plan had been executed flawlessly, how had Zira found out?

The evil lioness smiled unpleasantly. "Please! You think that I would leave my most valuable prisoner under the supervision of _only_ four guards? I had more eyes on her than you know, and they saw _everything_." She started to pace back and forth on the ground irritably. "I have to say, I was _not_ expecting this, at least not from all of you… _especially_ not from _some_ of you." She seemed to direct her last comment at Vitani who only stared back with focused eyes. "But what can I say? You all tried to leave… and now you will all _die_."

Tanai looked over the situation briefly before making a decision. There were too many Outlanders for them to fight through, they had only one option if they wanted to get out. He turned to his friends. "_Run_." He told them calmly and quietly. "Double back and get around her."

"What about you?" Vitani asked sharply.

"I'll buy you some time and then I'll catch up with you, now go!"

Vitani swore aloud and turned away to head back where they had come. His team and father followed her, though somewhat reluctantly. Kiara almost didn't leave; she just stared at Tanai with pleading eyes that begged him not to stay.

The Pridelander stared back, wishing that he could go, but knowing that he couldn't. He had a duty to fulfill, and she was it. Eventually, Tint managed to get Kiara to follow them, though she left begrudgingly.

Once they had disappeared into the night, Tanai looked back to the Outlanders. "Well?" he asked.

Zira just smiled her unsettling smile and sat there. To her side sat Shakra who smiled an equally unnerving grin. Something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was. They weren't attacking… they were only waiting... for _something_, though Tanai hadn't the slightest idea as to what it could be.

A loud roar behind him seemed to answer his unasked question. Tanai turned in horror as he identified the roar as Hatra's. Somewhere, not too far away, his friends had met another group of Outlanders. He could hear the sounds of combat all the way from where he stood. He whirled around in anger at Zira and Shakra. "You _planned_ this!" he yelled.

The evil lioness only smiled. "As I said before… the price of treachery, is _death!"_

*****Author's Note*****

**Again, I am terribly sorry for the tremendous wait, but I think it was worth it. I'm nearing the end of this story, and I actually posted the Prologue to my next one, "Path of a Rogue Warrior". Hope you all check it out. COMMENT AND REVIEW!**

**-Ben**


	12. Chapter 12: Disaster

*****Chapter 12*****

*****Disaster*****

It was Tanai's worst nightmare. He was separated from his team and unable to help them at all. He looked frantically to the foliage behind him, desperately wanting to rush to his friends' side, but he knew that if he did, he would only draw Zira, Shakra, and the other Outlanders that stood in front of him to the same fight. At least this way he could keep them busy with him.

The sounds of combat seeped through the darkness to where Tanai stood; he could hear roars, growls, and the deep thuds of body blows. "Please!" he cried to the Outlanders. "They were only following _my_ orders, don't punish _them_!"

"Tanai…" Zira said slowly with a wide grin. "You of all people should understand that insubordination _cannot_ be tolerated on _any _level. No, your friends will all _die!_"

"And they _will_ die." Shakra added. "They're running into my _best_ troops; none of them, _especially_ the princess will survive."

_Kiara._ He had tried to save her; now she was at risk of being killed. Besides the fact that he had led her into this mess, he _loved_ her! She couldn't die, he needed her! "Please, don't do this!" he begged the outlanders. Normally Tanai would have never begged, even for his own life, but this wasn't about him. It was about his friends, about his father, Kiara, his team, and Vitani. If he didn't do something soon, they would surely die.

Zira just chuckled at his attempt for mercy. _"They will all die."_ She repeated sinisterly.

Tanai stared blankly at Zira, shocked by her sheer ruthlessness. "Your own _daughter_ is among them!"

The lioness snorted amusedly. "As I said, insubordination _cannot_ be tolerated, no matter who they are."

The sounds of battle continued a short distance away, further distressing Tanai. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" he shouted.

Shakra smiled. "You crossed the line first, Tanai. I said that I would be there when you fell, and here I am."

"THEN DO IT! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?"

"We want you to hear _them_." Shakra responded as he gestured to the noises. "Listen as your friends are _killed_. _You_ did this_; if it wasn't for you, none of them would have to die_."

Tanai froze in horror as he realized that Shakra was right. If he had just stayed a prisoner and not tried to fake everything, none of this would have happened. Kiara probably wouldn't have been captured and his team wouldn't have followed him out here on this terrible plan. His father and Vitani would have continued their jobs as Zira's followers. It was _his_ fault and his fault alone that they were in danger. Because of his foolishness, they were going to _die._

His ears perked up as he realized the silence that suddenly surrounded him. The battle had stopped. It was over. No one was fighting, which meant that someone had one.

Zira smiled as she realized the same thing he did. "Well that's that. _They're all dead_."

Tanai stared at the floor. He hadn't thought that it would be possible to feel any worse than he did when Kopa was killed, but this was _far_ worse. Bitter tears fell from his face and splattered onto the dark ground. _He hadn't been strong enough_. He had _failed. _It was over, and he had only one person to blame; himself. He was alone in the world that he had created. Traitor to Simba and Priderock, enemy to the Outlanders, and a failure to his now murdered friends. Of all the outcomes he had anticipated, this was one that he had never foreseen. It was too horrible to imagine.

"Well," Zira continued, seeming to revel in Tanai's visible pain. "Now that _they_ have met their fates, it is now _your_ turn."

The outlanders began to circle around the outnumbered Pridelander, as if they expected him to try to escape. Tanai had no intention of running, he had nowhere to go. In a few short minutes, everything and everyone that he held dear to him had been destroyed. They could never be replaced and he could never recover. He stared at the ground in grief as the reality of it all sunk in. _It was over._

Tanai raised his head, tears still streaming down his face, to look at his attackers. He _hated_ them, more than just as the enemies that he had thought of them as before, but as moral abominations. They represented everything that was bad in the world, and he was not about to let them take him quietly. Tanai wanted… no, he _needed_ to fight them. It was an unwinnable battle against the many Outlanders, but he didn't care. It wasn't _about_ winning, he had already lost everything.

With nothing left to lose, Tanai threw himself at the nearest lion with an aggressive roar. He managed to tackle the surprised Outlander to the floor and rose to meet the next that lunged in from the side. Tanai ducked under his swing and raked his claws across his exposed underside. As the wounded lion fell away in pain, Tanai leapt to meet a lioness in midair. They collided sharply and fell to the ground with Tanai managing to land on top. Another Outlander lunged out at him while he was on top of the lioness, but Tanai rolled to the side and lifted the lioness into his path. He was about to strike out at both of them when a solid blow from behind sent him sprawling.

Tanai shook away the dizziness and rose quickly to meet Shakra who had struck him. Tanai growled angrily and rushed forward with a barrage of blows to the larger lion. Shakra was well trained and managed to block or dodge most of Tanai's strikes, but eventually a few strikes found their mark. The Outlander roared and reeled back with pain as fresh blood flowed down his face and side.

Normally, Tanai would have been pleased with his success, but he was not in his normal state of mind. Anger and grief dominated his mind and clouded his logic. He cared little for his own safety and consequently received several injuries from his sides. He lunged at the nearest group of fighters and met them with unprecedented aggressiveness. Tears for his lost love and friends still flowed down his face, but his face was an expression of pure rage. His emotion made him stronger and tougher; he wanted to _punish_ them for everything that they had done.

Despite his high level of performance, Tanai soon found himself surrounded and taking hits from all sides. He fought the chaos with his own chaos, but still received more damage than he dealt. It wasn't long before he found himself on the ground and fighting countless enemies from all directions. Evil laughter saturated the air and Tanai knew that it was almost over. It wouldn't be long before he was dead and off to see his lost friends. Surprisingly, it was what Tanai wanted. He had nowhere to go and nothing more to live for in this life. He had punished his enemies as best as he could; it was his time to go. He closed his eyes and waited for the final blows to end his life.

Suddenly and without warning, everything stopped. The small crowd of Outlanders that surrounded him seemingly vanished into thin air. Even Zira's laughter ceased and evaporated into the night. Tanai opened his eyes and rose to his feet slowly. Nasty wounds covered his body, but he was ready for whatever was next. He looked around frantically for his next enemy, but he could see nothing but the blackness of the savannah.

"Tanai…" a voice said from his side.

The Pridelander turned sharply to see an older, well fed, and well groomed lion staring at him. "Hanta…" he said surprisedly.

Slowly, a whole squad of Pridelanders emerged from the foliage and moved to uneasily surround the wounded lion. Tanai just stared in amazement as he realized that they must have scared off the Outlanders. At first, relief for his salvation prevailed, but soon the emotion turned to despair once again. It didn't matter that he was saved from Zira and her soldiers; he was already dead on the inside. In fact he was almost looking forward to death, and it almost angered him that Hanta interrupted him.

"Tanai… What happened?"

Tanai looked around at the familiar faces of his old unit. Their expressions were almost all of either anger or concern; some of both. He looked back to Hanta and tried to speak, but his body wouldn't allow it. It was just too painful to explain the horror he had committed. He just stared at his former friend, blood, tears, and sweat falling from his weary body.

Hanta stared back for a moment before turning to a nearby soldier. "Go get Simba." He said quietly.

The lion nodded and left hurriedly from the scene, disappearing into the shrubbery. For the next several minutes, Tanai just stood there in a silent standoff with his former unit, unable to respond to their questions. _How could he explain?_ What could he say that would somehow lessen the failure? Tanai had thought that he had nothing left to lose and that things could not have gotten any worse, but he was wrong. When Simba came through the grass towards him, it made him feel even worse than before. Death was far preferable to having to confront his adoptive father and explain his failure. Tanai closed his eyes and hung his head while he prayed to the kings for his wounds to kill him on the spot.

"Tanai…" Simba said neutrally. There was a slight tinge of concern in his voice, but other than that he was expressionless. "_What happened?"_

It was an impossible situation. It was too painful to talk about the death of his friends and loved ones, but Simba also deserved to know. His daughter was _dead_… and it was Tanai's fault.

"I-I… Simba…"

"Why are you here, Tanai?" Simba asked strongly. "I thought you turned to _their_ side." The king began pacing back and forth. "Where is _Kiara_, Tanai?" he said with a slight amount of anger. "Where is my _daughter?"_

Tanai took a ragged breath and stepped forwards towards his king. "Simba… I- I can't… I didn't." It was too much; there was nothing he could say. After a few moments of forced stuttering, Tanai went silent and hung his head. He stepped forwards again and laid himself down at the feet of the large golden lion. "_Kill me_." He whispered.

Simba's eyes widened. He had anticipated many things from the traitor, but this was not one of them. "What are you talking about?" he asked slowly, suspecting some sort of trick.

"I failed, Simba… and I can't take it anymore. I need to die. _Please._"

The king took a step back. "I'm not going to kill you, but I will take you prisoner."

"NO!" Tanai shouted unexpectedly. Facing his king was one thing, but his _entire_ family was something far too terrible to imagine. He couldn't do it.

The Pridelanders blinked suprisedly at the sudden outburst.

"_Please_…" Tanai continued quietly through muffled sobs. "I can't. Just… _Please kill me now_."

"I won't."

A sudden rage took over Tanai at Simba's stubbornness. Why wouldn't he do it? He _needed_ this! With a sudden growl, Tanai lunged at the golden lion. He wasn't trying to hurt him, just force him into action.

Simba dodged the sluggish blow with ease and knocked Tanai to the ground with a solid pin.

Tears flowed freely down the Outcast's face as he looked up at the noble king. "Please…" he whispered. "I _deserve_ it."

"Why? What did you _do_?"

Tanai looked away out of shame. He couldn't hide the truth any longer; Simba deserved to know. "They're _d-dead_… All of them."

"_Who_?"

Sobs racked the poor lion's chest as he tried to explain. "A-all of them! They're _d-dead_ because of _me_… I can't take it anymore!"

"Who is dead, Tanai?" Simba asked slowly.

"P-please… don't make me say more. I just want it to be over."

"_Who is dead?_" Simba urged him strongly.

"If I t-tell you, will you d-do _it_?"

Simba growled irritably. "I'll _consider _it."

Tanai nodded. It was the best he was going to get. "My father… my friends… and _Kiara."_

Simba blinked at the first two, but the mention of his daughter made his eyes go wide with shock. "_Kiara?"_

Tanai nodded and closed his eyes in despair. There was nothing more to say to Simba.

"Kiara is _dead?"_ he asked shockedly. "_How?"_

_"IT'S BECAUSE OF ME!"_ Tanai shouted up at his king, causing him to lean back in surprise. "Please… I'm begging you, Simba. _Kill me."_

The dangerous look in Simba's eye was all Tanai needed for assurance. He was going to do it. He had killed his baby girl; _it would all be over soon._

*****Author's Note*****

**Well, I hope you all enjoyed this story. I know it's a sad ending, but they can't **_**all**_** be happy.**

**Just kidding! I'm not done, and neither is this story, though it **_**is**_** nearing the end. Again I'd like to draw your attention to my other 'new' story: "Path of a Rogue Warrior." Right now I've only got a prologue out, but it **_**is**_** my next story. Some more reviews would be nice on it; I want to know what you think! REVIEW AND COMMENT!**

**-Ben**


	13. Chapter 13: Truth

*****Chapter 13*****

*****Truth*****

It was over and he knew it. He had caused the death of almost everyone he cared for, including Kiara. His love, his counterpart. The look in Simba's eye told him that the king agreed with him about his conclusion. _He deserved to die._ Tanai laid back and closed his eyes. He was ready to die, ready for it all to be over. He was thankful that Simba would do it; life was too terrible to continue. He prayed that there would be no afterlife as everyone said, he just wanted it to be over; it was too painful.

A loud thud sounded right over Tanai's head, causing him to open his eyes and look up. Simba was gone, knocked away by some other lion. The two rolled on the ground for several moments before Simba managed to pin the smaller lion. It was only then that Tanai could see the attacker's face.

"_Hatra?"_ he asked suprisedly.

The Outlander didn't respond, instead he just looked up to the great king that stood above him. "Please don't k-kill him…" he gasped despite the pressure on his chest.

Simba blinked and relieved some of the pressure from Hatra's chest, allowing him to breathe more easily. "Why do _you_ care about _him_?"

"He's my team leader... and my _friend_."

Tanai slowly rose to his feet. The adrenaline was wearing off and he was starting to feel his wounds a little more sharply. "Hatra… I thought…"

The Outlander looked up at him. "You thought _what?_"

"Zira… she made it sound like… I thought you were _dead_."

Hatra forced a smile. "Shakra's _elite_ troops aren't _that_ elite. Besides, _we_ were trained to be pretty elite as well."

"So... you- …What happened?" Tanai managed to ask through his shock.

Simba got off the Outlander and stepped back, though his distrust was apparent. "Would someone care to explain to the _rest_ of us what happened?" he growled impatiently.

Hatra rose to his feet. "We got separated and a bunch of Shakra's troops ambushed us. We managed to just barely fight them off, but we've got casualties."

"_Who_?" Tanai asked urgently. "_Where?"_

"Not too far away… I went to go get help."

"Take me to them!" Tanai said urgently as he limped forward.

"Us too." Simba added. He still was quite uneasy about Hatra's presence, but seemingly willing to cooperate.

Hatra nodded. "Okay, follow me." He told them before taking off into the savannah.

Tanai raced after him with the other Pridelanders in hot pursuit. The pain from his many wounds was felt quite clearly, but he ignored it. His _friends might be okay!_ Well, maybe not _okay_, but not dead! It was enough to make him forget about his earlier wishes for death and get him moving.

The group burst into an open area in the grass and Tanai stopped to survey the area. The grass was all matted down and there were spots of blood everywhere. Some dirt had been kicked up and several bodies of unknown Outlanders lay about the area. He looked to a spot farther away and easily located Kiara… she was _alright! _Her pale coat shone almost luminously in the moonlight. She looked like an angel. He started walking towards her and their eyes met. She started off towards him at a brisk pace with relief in her eyes. As she neared him, Tanai could see many small cuts and bruises on her body, though she didn't seem to notice them. He was about to reach out and pull her into a hug when a sharp blow across the face stunned him.

He looked up at the lioness that he loved with a shocked expression. _She had hit him!_ "What was _that_ for?" he asked surprisedly.

"That was for trying to take on Zira and the rest of the Outlanders on _your_ own! You could have been _KILLED!"_

Tanai just stared at her and smiled. "I thought _you_ were dead…"

"Why would you think that?"

"I heard the battle and when it ended I just assumed that you guys had lost..."

"Well we certainly didn't _win_." She said darkly.

"What do you mean?"

"Some of your friends and your father; they aren't doing too well. They're over there." She answered as she gestured to the side.

"Kiara…" he said quietly. "I'm sorry I screwed up."

"You didn't _screw up!_" she said strongly before pulling him into a warm embrace. "You got me out of there. _Thank you._" Kiara pushed him away, sharply ending the moment. "Now go see your friends; they need you!"

Tanai nodded and ran off to find his team. Before he got too far, he heard Kiara squeal "DADDY!" and caught a glimpse of her running into her father's arms. Despite everything, Tanai couldn't hold back a smile at the heartwarming sight.

Mardok and Fila lay next to each other. Blood drenched Mardok's fur and was seeping into the already saturated ground. Fila had a deep gash on her leg, but otherwise was relatively unhurt.

"Hey, Tanai." Mardok said weakly. "We were _hoping_ to see you again."

"Are you alright?" Tanai asked, immediately regretting the question. _Of course they weren't all right!_

Mardok nodded despite Tanai's doubts. "I don't think it's that bad, just a lot of blood."

Fila nodded in agreement. "Same here; it looks worse than it really is."

Tanai nodded. "I'm proud of you guys. You did really well."

Fila chuckled despite the pain that it put her in. "You shoulda seen the look on their _faces _when Hatra beat the first guy down. It was _priceless!_"

He smiled, glad that they were alright.

A raspy voice from his side made him turn. "Tanai…"

Vitani looked at him with a solemn expression. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. Tanai's grin vanished. "What is it, Vitani?"

"It's your father… It doesn't look good."

His eyes locked onto a dark figure behind the lioness. Tanai took a step forward and Vitani stepped back to make room for him. He looked over his father's broken body as if in a trance. There was a lot of blood flowing from a lot of different wounds. His back leg was bent in a weird angle and shining white bone showed from his paw.

"Father…" he said softly as he bent down to the old lion's side.

"Tanai…" came a pained reply. "I'm sorry."

"No, Dad, _I'm _sorry. I shouldn't have sent you all this way."

"There was no way that you could have known… and besides, that's not what I was talking about." He answered in a voice barely more than a whisper. "I'm sorry for leaving you… when you were a cub."

"Dad… you had no choice."

"We _always_ have a choice, and _you_ made the right one. You got us all out of the Outlands just like you promised, you trained your team well enough to fight off the best Shakra could throw at us, and you stayed true to your morals." Tarun coughed violently and spit up some blood. "I wish I could have watched you grow up."

"You still can… We can go home!"

He shook his head. "No, Tanai. I'm sorry, but I'm done."

"What, no! You can't be _done!_ We _just_ got back together!"

"I know, and I'm glad… but you can't change what happened. I'm dying and no one can change that…"

"Dad… please! Don't _do _this!"

"It's not up to me… the kings have already made up their mind."

"But I _need_ you!" By this point, tears were once again falling from Tanai's eyes. It was the _second _time in a single night that he had lost his father.

Tarun snorted. "No you don't. You're stronger than anyone I've ever met, and I know that you will continue to make me proud even after I'm gone."

Tanai was silent for a moment. "I love you dad…"

"I love you too." The old lion pulled his son into a tight embrace and the two held it for a while. Slowly, Tarun's strength seemed to fade and his breathing slowed. Eventually his entire body went limp in Tanai's grasp and his heart ceased to beat. He was dead.

Despite his grip, the lion's corpse fell away from Tanai's hug and landed on the ground with a dull thud. The Pridelander sat on the cold ground for a while, just staring at his father's lifeless body. He loved him, he truly did; but in all honesty he hadn't known him that well. Tanai had always had the belief that someday he would get to know him like a son _should _know his father. Now it was all gone; he would _never_ be able to really know his father. He was gone… and with him a piece of himself.

"Tanai…" a soft voice said from behind him.

The grieved lion turned to see Kiara staring at him sympathetically.

"_I'm sorry_." She whispered as she moved forward to nuzzle him under his chin.

Tanai closed his eyes and returned the affection with a paw around her shoulder. _He hadn't lost everything._ It good to have at least _some _comfort. "_Thank you._" He whispered into her ear.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Once Mardok and Fila had been treated, it didn't take long for the entire group to start back towards Priderock. Simba was just glad to have Kiara back and didn't want to hear any story or explanation until later. For the time being, he just wanted to get home and make sure that everyone was recovering adequately.

Tanai accepted the Kings decision readily; he needed time to recover himself from the night's events. He was mentally _exhausted._ First he thought they were safe, and then he thought that everyone was dead, then everyone was okay, then his father was dead. It was a lot to process, and he needed time to think. Kiara stayed close to him the whole way back to Priderock, but spoke very little. She understood that he just wanted some quiet, and he appreciated her unspoken understanding.

Eventually though, she _had_ to say something. "Tanai…"

"Yea?"

"I know that you probably don't want to talk about what happened tonight…"

"I don't. At least not yet"

"Still… You did the right thing."

Tanai sighed. "Kiara, I'm sorry but I need to figure this out on my own."

"No, you _don't_!" she said in a surprisingly strong tone. "If you do this by _yourself_, you will be too hard on yourself just like you always are and you will _blame_ yourself unfairly just like you did with _Kopa!_"

Tanai blinked, somewhat shocked by her assertiveness. "I don't-"

She cut him off quickly. "Yes you _do_, Tanai, and it _kills_ me to see you like that!"

"Fine." He said quietly. "Kopa's death wasn't my fault… but my father's might have been."

"NO!" she said rather loudly. "You just don't get it! There was _nothing_ that you could have one, you did _everything_ right!"

"Then why is he _dead_? Something must have been done wrong, or else he would still be here!"

Kiara shook her head. "My father once told me that sometimes bad things happen… and there's nothing that you can do about them."

"What, so I'm just supposed to _ignore_ this?"

"No, of course not. My father made that mistake once; he said that you have to face the cause head on. You can't run from it."

"What if the cause is me?"

"It _isn't_"

"Then what is?"

"_Zira_."

Tanai blinked. She was right; maybe there had been some minor mistake that he had made, but ultimately it was Zira who had caused it all. She had done_ everything_ from killing Kopa, to capturing Kiara, to killing his father. He suddenly realized that Kiara was still talking.

"You did nothing wrong, it was all Zira's fault. If you want to make things right, we need to stop her before she can do anything else."

He nodded slowly as he listened to her words. "Maybe you're right… Maybe I've been misplacing my blame."

Kiara released a relieved sigh. "So you will stop being too hard on yourself?"

"No. I'll just be hard on Zira as well." he said though an unexpected grin.

Kiara rolled her eyes. "I guess that I should be grateful that you'll do _at least_ that."

Tanai reached out and licked her cheek, making her blink out of surprise. "Thank you." He said softly. "For everything."

She smiled at him, and that was all he needed. If she was at his side, there was _nothing_ that could stop him.

The sun was just beginning to rise when the group arrived at Priderock. The rest of the unit had been called back from their positions near the Outlands since Kiara had been recovered. The non-fighter Pridelanders were just beginning to wake and were clearly shocked to see the group of Outlanders arriving with the King. Even more surprising was Tanai's presence among them.

Simba made sure that the Mardok and Fila were taken to the infirmary cave and seen by Rafiki. The rest of them were brought to the main cave for things to be explained.

Tanai sat with Vitani, Hatra, and Tint while Simba paced irritably back and forth. Even if the terms weren't so great, Tanai felt great to be home. He glanced over to where Kiara sat with Nala in the corner. Hanta and several other soldiers weren't too far away either.

"So…" Simba began slowly. "Would someone like to explain to me what this was all about?"

Tanai took a deep breath. "When Zira captured me… I was told that Kopa was alive and my father was with her." Simba's eyebrows rose in surprise, but Tanai continued anyways. "I had to pretend that I was her follower in order to search for Kopa and my Father."

"So when you came back and told us that you were following Zira-"

"That was all a lie; it killed me to do it and I'm sorry. I _had_ to make them think that I was serious."

Simba nodded, though it was difficult to tell whether or not he was truly sympathetic. "You said that Kopa was _alive?_"

Tanai's expression darkened quickly. "Zira lies a lot."

"So we are all supposed to believe that you just _pretended_ to betray us? After everything you did, you just expect to be accepted back without any consequences?"

Tanai stole a glance at Kiara who was watching the scene nervously. "There's a lot of things that I would _like_, but frankly I'll take anything you can give me. Take me as your prisoner, I don't care, just _please_ don't exile me!"

Simba blinked. A few hours ago you were begging for me to _kill_ you instead of taking you prisoner-"

Kiara blinked suprisedly. "You asked my dad to _kill_ you?"

"I thought…" He stammered. "It's complicated."

Simba sat back and stared at Tanai with unsure eyes. "We've got all the time in the world for you to explain."

Tanai sighed deeply while he searched for the right words. "We had all gotten out of the Outlands and we thought we were safe, but Zira trapped us…"

"We tried to go around while Tanai kept them busy…" Vitani added. "We didn't know that there was another team waiting for us."

Simba looked to the Outlanders. "You're Zira's _daughter._ What are _you_ doing here?"

Vitani looked Simba straight in the eyes. "Just got sick of my mom is all. I never agreed with her and Tanai offered me an out."

"What about the rest of you?" Simba asked as he turned to Hatra and Tint.

"We were assigned to Tanai by Shakra." Explained Hatra. "We're loyal to him."

Simba growled irritably and turned back to Tanai. "So you thought that they were all dead when we found you?"

"Yes Sir. That's what Zira said, but like I mentioned before, Zira lies."

Simba began to pace back and forth again with indecision. He was clearly conflicted.

"Daddy… they _saved_ me. If it wasn't for them I'd still be out there in the Outlands."

"Simba…" Nala said softly. "You owe them our daughter's life. Surely you can at least give them asylum."

The king nodded. "I want to believe you all," he said quietly. "I really do. But naturally I can't just welcome you with open arms."

Tanai nodded understandingly. It was only protocol.

"You may stay here for the time being, but you will be kept under close watch. Don't try _anything_."

"Understood, Sire." Tanai responded neutrally as he bowed.

The others followed his lead and bowed as well, though they were unable to hide their happiness. Tanai didn't blame them; they were finally free from Zira. He glanced back at Kiara who smiled at him happily. The fact that Simba was keeping them under close watch was incidental. It would only be a matter of time before everything was back to normal.

*****Author's Note*****

**I hope you are all a bit more satisfied with this chapter than the last one. Naturally I wasn't going to end it like that, and I think this turned out quite well. Though I could probably end it here, It still isn't done. Almost, but not quite.**

**REVIEW AND COMMENT!**

**-Ben**


	14. Chapter 14: Trust

*****Chapter 14*****

*****Trust*****

Normal. What did it meant for things to return to normal?For Tanai it was relatively simple; resume his position as team leader and regain everyone's trust. It was a goal easier said than achieved. The bottom line was that few really trusted him anymore. Of course, there _were_ a few people who just immediately accepted him back, but most of the pride avoided him as if he was diseased. He couldn't blame them of course, but it still hurt to know that he had burned some bridges with his 'Outlander mask.'

He sighed deeply as he looked over the golden savannah. Since he wasn't training every day as he was before, Tanai was pretty much bored out of his mind. He glanced over at the two lions that were 'supervising' him for the day. It was ironic to say the least; Tanai had trained both of the guards individually. To see them now as at a higher level of trust than him was… strange to say the least. It was clear that they felt similarly; whenever he looked to them, they looked away nervously, almost with embarrassment as if they felt _bad_ for watching him.

Having time to himself wasn't _all _bad, though. It gave him the time he needed to think about his father. He had soon come to terms with the event; it was _Zira's_ fault, not his. Though he wished that he could have done something different, the past was past. Now all he could do was try to stop Zira; as long as she was around, no one was safe.

"Oh come on, don't try to stop _me_ here!"

Tanai turned to see Kiara arguing with one of the supervisors.

"Get out of the way!" she said, clearly annoyed as she pushed the larger lion to the side and walked towards Tanai.

The lion just stared with a slightly shocked expression. He didn't know what to do about this lioness.

Tanai just snickered as she came to sit next to him. "Are my guards annoying you?"

"Very much so." She replied with a grin. "So were the others that were watching your friends."

He blinked suprisedly. "You were talking with my team?"

"Yea, they seemed bored and I wanted to figure out what you were doing when you were out there."

"You could have just have asked _me_." He replied, almost as if he had been offended, though he didn't mean to be.

Kiara smiled. "You would have downplayed yourself too much."

"I don't downplay, I'm just fair."

"Whatever you say, Tanai." She said with a grin. "I just hope that you understand that the rest of us aren't as hard on you as _you_ are."

Tanai snorted. "A few weeks ago I would have agreed with you, but not now. Everyone pretty much hates me."

"Don't worry so much about them. They'll see the real you soon enough."

Tanai was about to respond sarcastically, but was cut off by a surprise nuzzle from Kiara. He returned it affectionately and for a brief moment all his problems evaporated. "Thanks…" he whispered into her ear. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Try to get my dad to kill you again?"

Tanai chuckled a little despite the dark memory. "Maybe I would… I love you."

"I love you too, but _please_ don't do that again." She said sternly. "If I die, I don't want you to die too!"

"No promises." He said with a smile.

Kiara closed her eyes irritably. "I _hate_ you."

"No, you _love_ me, remember?"

"Yea, but I still hate you."

Tanai smiled and leaned into her. "I think you love me." He said as he licked her cheek.

Kiara smiled and licked him back. She loved him and there was _no_ hiding it.

"Kiara!" a voice boomed from behind.

The two turned quickly to see Simba standing there, somewhat irritated.

"What are you doing here, Kiara? Your mother has been looking for you."

Kiara sighed and turned to Tanai. "Sorry, I gotta go." Then she looked back to her father. "Where's Mom?"

"Down by the waterhole. I think she wants to teach you something about the herds."

Kiara nodded and trotted down a path towards the waterhole, soon disappearing from sight.

Tanai watched her go, but quickly realized that Simba was watching him watch his daughter. Tanai looked to the king and tried not to seem too guilty. "Hey, Simba…" he said nervously.

The king just stared at him. "What were you doing, Tanai?" he asked coolly.

"Nothing, just… hanging out."

Simba sighed and walked over to Tanai's side. "I've been watching the Outlanders that you brought with you, and I'm starting to feel a little better about them."

"They aren't _all_ bad."

"No, they certainly aren't. I certainly didn't expect Vitani to turn on her mother so easily."

Tanai nodded. "Me neither… but she has good reasons."

Simba raised his eyebrows quizzically. "And they would be?"

The younger lion sighed, unsure if he should really tell Simba Vitani's secret. He decided that it was for her best interest. "Zira trained Vitani's brother too hard and accidently killed him."

"She killed her own son?"

"It was an accident, but it was her fault entirely. Vitani doesn't trust her mother because of that _and_ everything else."

Simba shrugged. "I can't say that I blame her."

"They're just grateful to be here."

The two sat in silence for a few more moments before Tanaia managed to wind up the courage to aske the question that he had been burning to ask.

"Simba…" he began slowly. "How much longer are we going to have to have these '_supervisors'_ around? It's getting really annoying."

The king leaned back and close his eyes. "It's been a few days now… so probably not much longer for you. I trust you, Tanai, just _don't_ do anything like that again."

Tanai nodded. "Again, I'm sorry for everything that I put you all through."

"Just be careful. You mean a lot to a _lot_ of people"

Tanai blinked and looked up at Simba. _Did he know about him and Kiara?_ It was impossible to tell from his expression. "Yea… thanks." He said slowly. "What about the others?"

"A while longer with the guards. Until I'm sure about them."

"They can't really prove themselves if you keep them cooped up like this. You aren't giving them much of a chance."

"In due time, Tanai, in due time."

"It's just that they want to help, and it's killing them to not be able to do anything."

Simba let a smile slip. "Are you sure that you aren't talking about _yourself_ and not your friends, Tanai?"

"Maybe a little…"

The king sighed. "I know that you want to jump back into your old spot, but the troops just don't see you the way they used to. Some of them really took your 'betrayal' quite hard."

Tanai nodded sullenly. As much as he wanted to get back into the action, he knew that Simba was right. Everyone just needed time to readjust to it all, and things could go wrong if it was rushed. "Like you said, _in due time._"

Simba nodded, but seemed somewhat distracted. "Sorry, Tanai, but Hanta is coming. I need to speak with him."

"Mind if I come?"

He shrugged indecisively. "I suppose, I'm sure that Hanta has a few things to talk to you about."

Tanai nodded and rose from his sitting position to follow the king down a pathway. He passed the guards who looked at each other unsurely. They weren't sure what to do; should they follow them or stay put? Eventually they decided to follow the returned Pridelander, but at a distance.

"Sire." Hanta greeted Simba respectfully as he approached them. "And Tanai…" he added unsurely.

"Hello, Hanta. Any news from the borders?"

The Unit leader shook his head. "We've had sporadic skirmishes, but no real casualties and without any real indication as to what their plans are."

Simba sighed, clearly bothered by the whole thing. "I wish I knew what they were doing."

Tanai felt a twang of guilt as he remembered his involvement in the Outlanders' battle plan. "It's my fault…" Tanai said slowly, unsure as to what their reactions would be. "I accidently suggested this strategy…"

Hanta stared at him for a moment. "This was _your_ idea?"

"Yes… Zira wanted a way to get better penetration into the Pridelands, and I answered without thinking."

The two others' faces just stared in shock.

"I'm sorry! It was stupid and I wish I could take it back, but I can't."

"What exactly was your strategy?"

"To attack from all directions so that we would spread out our defenses. Once we did that, they would attack with full force where we were weakest."

Simba groaned. "So she's going to attack somewhere, but we don't know where?"

Tanai shook his head. "I was never involved any deeper than the initial idea. But… I think I know someone who _might_ have a better idea."

Hanta's ears perked up. "They know where Zira is going to attack?"

"Maybe." I'm not sure, but we can certainly ask her.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Vitani was just as bored as everyone else. She looked over to Tanai's team who was lying down together. She was a loner by nature and preferred to stick to herself. Even in the outlands she was different from the others and secluded herself. Now it wasn't necessarily by choice, but more of habit. The 'supervisors' didn't really bother her that much; she knew how these things worked. It would have been surprising if Simba hadn't placed some restrictions on them; they were Outlanders, after all.

"Tanai!" Fila suddenly exclaimed as she leapt to her feet, startling Vitani.

"Hey everyone," Tanai greeted as he walked over to them. "Sorry again about the guards, but that's how it's gotta be for now."

Hatra nodded sullenly. "How much longer though?"

"I don't know; Simba isn't quite sure himself."

"Is there anything we can do in the meantime?" Vitani asked, not really expecting to be given any tasks.

"Actually, Vitani," began Tanai. "I don't know how much you were involved in your mother's plans, but Simba was hoping that you would be able to supply some information to him."

She grinned at the thought of turning on her mother. "I know a bit, does he want me to go to him?"

"I think so. Come with me and I'll show you where he is."

"What about the rest of us?" Mardok asked, clearly wanting something to do.

Tanai grinned. "I don't know… do your drills or something."

"We're still recovering from the fight!" he protested.

"Well then you should rest."

Mardok sighed exasperatedly and fell back onto the floor with a deep groan. "Tanai, I'm BORED!"

"I'm not your mother, entertain yourself!"

"But there's nothing to do!"

"Be patient." As soon as his back was turned, Tanai allowed himself to grin at Mardok's complaints. He looked over at Vitani to see her almost smiling as well.

They found Simba up on the lip of Priderock, looking over the Savannah as if searching for the unseen enemy.

"Sir?" Tanai asked for his attention.

Simba blinked from his trance and looked down at the arrivals. "Oh, thank you for coming, Vitani."

"My pleasure." She said in her usual raspy and neutral voice. "What exactly are you hoping that I can tell you?"

Simba glanced back at the horizon uneasily. "I need to know where Zira is planning to attack from; where she will take her main force."

"You know about her plan to stretch your defenses?"

Simba nodded. "Tanai said that you were part of planning the finer details of it."

She cringed slightly. "I wasn't that involved in it, but I can tell you that she was planning on either coming in from the north and using the hills as cover, or from the west using the dried riverbeds."

"Are you sure?"

Vitani nodded slowly. "Unless she changed her mind since I left, I would expect her to use the riverbeds; that's what she was leaning towards."

"How soon?"

"Soon." She answered darkly. "Shakra actually wanted to do it a few days ago, but Zira held him back."

Simba blinked suprisedly. "So it could be any day now?"

"Yes. I'd expect it sooner rather than later."

Simba closed his eyes for a moment to think. "Alright… thank you for your help, Vitani. I'm sure it wasn't easy to leave your mother."

The lioness snorted somewhat amusedly. "It was easier than you might think."

SImba nodded slowly, as if thinking of something else. "If and when they attack, would you be alright with accompanying us to the battle?"

Vitani blinked. "As a soldier?"

"More like an advisor… You know Zira better than anyone here, and it would help me to have your insight as to what you think she is doing."

She paused for a long moment, clearly taken aback by the offer.

"If you don't want to fight your family," Simba added. "I would understand."

"No, I just…" she stuttered. "I mean… I would be more than willing to go with you."

Tanai smiled, glad to see his adoptive father and friend getting along.

"I'm glad." Simba said with a smile. "Maybe we can get you and your friends away from the supervisors sooner than we thought."

Vitani chuckled, a rare sight. "I think they would appreciate that."

*****Author's Note*****

**Moving right along, I guess. As I said before, the chaos of fall is setting in and I'm a bit strapped for time, but I'll keep updating as much as I can.**

**I while ago, (in a different story) I mentioned that my friend Pat was going off to Basic Training at Fort Knox. I just got a letter from him the other day; he's doing well and appreciated all the encouragement that I forwarded from you all, (Though I didn't tell him that it was from a Lion King Fanfiction site, haha.)**

**Keep reading!  
COMMENT AND REVIEW!**


	15. Chapter 15: Proving Your Worth

*****Chapter 15*****

*****Proving Your Worth*****

It was yet another long, hot, boring, and tedious day with nothing to do except watch the other Pridelanders go about their business. True, the guards had been dismissed, but Tanai was still extremely anxious to do something _important_. He hated to be unproductive.

"How are you doing, Tanai?"

He looked over to see the King approaching him casually. "Oh, hey Simba... I'm bored… _Again._"

"Just be patien-"

"I'm _sick_ of being patient, Simba!" Tanai cried irritably. "So is my team, we can't _function_ like this!"

Simba sighed deeply. "You know that this is how it has to be. I know that it's tough, but you _have_ to be patient."

A flutter of feathers landed at Simba's feet as he finished his sentence. "Sire!" he cried. "Outlanders are moving in!"

"From where?"

"The West, they're sticking to the riverbeds."

Tanai almost smiled. "Just like Vitani said they would."

Simba nodded, then belted out a massive roar to signal the unit and started down the trail to meet them.

Tanai started to follow the king, but Simba stopped him in his tracks. "Not this time, Tanai."

"_What?_" he exclaimed. "Simba, this is going to be a _nasty_ battle!"

"That doesn't change the fact that the Unit isn't ready to have you back as their leader."

"Simba!" he protested.

"No, Tanai. This isn't up for debate. You will stay here while the battle is occurring. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir." Tanai replied sullenly as Simba continued down the path, leaving the younger lion by himself. It just wasn't fair! He was back on _their_ side; why couldn't he _help_? Tanai let out an exasperated sigh as he flopped down onto the ground in despair. It was life, and things like this happened. Still, he _didn't_ like it.

He watched as all of the off-duty unit members, including Vitani, assembled at the base of Priderock with Simba. When everyone had arrived, they set off towards the Riverbeds to the west, picking up any on-patrol teams as they went on their way.

"I'm glad that you aren't going."

His head snapped up to see Kiara walking over to him. She nuzzled his cheek for a moment before lying next to him.

"I wish I was."

She sighed. "I know that it's what you do and everything, but it still scares me."

Tanai didn't know how to respond to her statement. "I'm sorry…" he said unsurely.

"Just promise me that you won't get hurt or anything."

This one he could answer a bit more easily. "I promise, Kiara."

She smiled. "Good."

**(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

The unit moved silently through the savannah brush towards the dried riverbeds. They moved efficiently in disciplined squad formations and with an unprecedented determination. They all knew that this opposition's goal was to make it to Priderock, and they were their family's only defense.

Vitani walked alongside Simba and Hanta near the middle of the formations, discussing possibilities and chances that might offer themselves once the battle began. Zazu landed before them in his usual fluster.

"Sire!"

"What is it, Zazu?" Simba asked worriedly.

"The Outlanders, they're closer than we thought!"

As if on cue, the front of the formation suddenly erupted into violence as the Outlander army rushed from the brush and assaulted the Pridelanders.

Simba roared angrily. "Hanta, reinforce the defenders!"

"Yes, Sir." The lion replied as he raced off with his team to secure the battle zone.

Simba turned to the fighters behind him. They were ready and willing to fight; their eyes shown with anticipation. The king looked to the nearest squad leader. "Take your team and secure our flanks. I don't want any surprises."

The lion nodded and rushed off with his team in hot pursuit.

Vitani watched it all with a sense of awe. It was fascinating to her to see actual strategy being applied to this level of fighting. When she had fought for her mother, there had been _some_ strategy, but it was much larger scale; they didn't even _have_ small squads like this except for some elite groups. The Pridelander way was different for sure, but it seemed a whole lot effective. She took a step forward to join the fight, but Simba held her back.

"I don't want you fighting, Vitani." He said sternly. "I need you to watch."

"What do you want me to watch _for?_" she asked confusedly.

Simba returned his gaze to the fight. "Anything unusual. I need to know where the leaders are, and why they are where they are."

She frowned, but nodded. "Alright, but I don't know how much I'll be able to see."

"Do your best. Find me or Hanta if there's anything that we should know."

Vitani nodded and watched the King rush off to coordinate some finer troop movements. Once he was out of sight, she rushed to a nearby boulder and leapt to the top. From there, she could see most of the battle. It was a different point of view to say the least; a bird's eye view was something that was usually only reserved for _birds_.

The former Outlander watched her former allies rush at the Pridelander ranks again and again with little avail. Occasionally a soldier would be hurt and his friends would pull him away to the back. Everything moved like a well- oiled machine, and Vitani had to remind herself that she needed to watch the attackers, _not_ the Pridelanders.

She searched the ranks for familiar faces and found a few, but they were insignificant. Minor advisors and new recruits. It was strange, she thought. Normally advisors didn't take part in the battles, let alone be on the front lines. They simply weren't trained to fight like the troops were. Vitani shrugged it off. Zira must have wanted all the troops she could get her hands on, no matter how good of fighters they were. It was typical of her to use her close advisors as scapegoats.

Other than the existence of not-fighters in the battle, there was little out of place. Vitani watched for something that Simba could use, but nothing was there. The battle raged on with little guidance from the leaders and it seemed that they were just aimlessly attacking the Pridelander ranks. They _were_ however causing damage; the sheer number of Outlanders was enough to overpower some of the front-line Pridelanders.

Vitani just couldn't figure it out, _what were they doing?_ Shakra's usual tactics were'nt being used, nor were any of Zira's. For some reason, the Outlanders were behaving as if they were _leaderless._ Vitani blinked as she came to understand the truth. She looked frantically across the battlefield for several moments, but it soon became clear as to what was going on.

"SIMBA!" she yelled as she leapt from her boulder- perch. She raced along the backside of the Pridelander's ranks until she found the king giving orders to some squad leaders. "SIMBA!" she yelled again, making him turn sharply.

"What is it, Vitani?" he asked urgently. "What did you see?"

"They aren't here!"

"What? Who isn't here?" he asked confusedly.

"Nobody that matters! Zira, Shakra, or _any_ of their better troops."

Simba stayed silent as he waited for her to continue.

"They've all been replaced with lions that don't usually fight; my mother doesn't want us to know that they aren't here!"

By this time, Hanta had rushed over to them. "But what does that _mean_?"

"They're somewhere else… my guess is that they're making a bee-line for _Priderock_."

A look of horror crossed Simba's face. "We only have a handful of troops there… they don't stand a chance if Zira is going with her _best_ soldiers."

Hanta swore. "If we retreat back to Priderock, we'll only bring _this_ fight to our doorstep! Everyone will be in danger."

Simba was silent a moment as he searched his mind frantically. "Vitani…" he began. "Take a squad and go back to Priderock. Set up as good of a defense as you can and try to hold them off. We'll try to break this off and get back to help you as soon as we can."

Vitani nodded and turned away to find a squad. As she ran, she couldn't help but think about the situation. Of all the things she had anticipated being when she was following her mother, being the last defense for Priderock was _not_ one of them.

**(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

"I'm telling you, not _all_ parts of a wildebeest are better than a zebra, but the back legs just below the knee is _amazing_!"

"Mardok, I think you're crazy." Fila said boredly. "That's the toughest, most grisly part of the whole thing."

Hatra nodded. "Sorry, man, but I think she's right. The worst zebra is _sooo _much better than the best wildebeest.

The lion huffed irritably. "Well we're just going to have to get a wildebeest and I'll _prove_ it to you!"

"Would you all just _shut up!_" Tint demanded. "You've been on this for almost an _hour _now! I don't care which tastes _better, _I'm happy to get either!"

Hatra closed his eyes in mock arrogance. "You just don't appreciate _fine_ African cuisine."

Tanai laughed quietly to himself as he watched his team pass the time. Tint was right, they _had_ been on this topic for a _long_ time, but it was fine. It got his mind off of the battle that he was missing. A couple guards stood to the side, supposedly watching the former Outlanders, but lately they had been more and more relaxed. They even partook in the team's desperate attempts for entertainment; after all, they were just as bored as the lions they guarded.

"It _does_ matter, Tint." One of the guards remarked. "Zebra is just _waaay_ better."

"See!" Fila said. "Even the _guard_ agrees with me!"

Mardok shook his head. "I still say that you're wrong. There are parts of the wildebeest which are just _amazing_."

Fila snorted. "Like what, the _hooves?_"

Tint groaned and buried her head under her paws. _"SHUT UP!_ You all are being _sooo_ stupid!"

Hatra smiled and raised his head. "Well, maybe we'll end _that_ debate; I see a certain _someone_ coming toward us."

Tint rolled onto her back. "Who?"

Hatra grinned and batted his eyelashes. "It's _Kiara…"_ he said as femininely as he could. "Quick, Tanai! Your mane is sticking up!"

Everyone laughed as Tanai glared at them. "_Watch_ it…" he said as dangerously as he could manage, unable to completely hide his smile.

"Tanai!"

The urgent tone silenced everyone as Kiara approached them. Her face was as distraught as her voice, making Tanai a bit nervous.

"What is it?" he asked worriedly as he got to his feet.

Kiara frowned. "We've got a _big_ problem… and we need you." She glanced to the rest of the lions in the room. "_All_ of you."

"What is it?" Hatra asked.

"Vitani came back, she thinks that Zira is attacking from somewhere else."

Tanai blinked. "Wait, I thought that the battle was happening near the riverbeds."

"It is, but neither Zira, nor her best troops are with them. Vitani thinks that they're going to be here _very_ soon."

One of the guards blinked. "_Here? _As in Priderock?"

Kiara nodded. "We've only got a handful of soldiers until the rest of the Unit gets back and we're going to need everyone that we can get."

It took a moment for the reality of the situation to sink in, but once it did Tanai turned to look at his team. "Are you guys ready to prove your worth?" he asked them.

Hatra grinned. "I'm ready." The others nodded in agreement. This was the moment they had been waiting for.

**(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

The sun was sinking lower into the sky, casting long shadows and deep orange light onto the Savannah. Priderock was tinted a deep blood red, seemingly foreshadowing the coming battle. It hadn't taken long for Tanai to organize a defense; under the circumstances the Pridelanders accepted him readily as their leader. There was no one else around that could help them. They had all the major entrances covered and all the non-fighters hidden away in safety. Now it was just a matter of waiting. Tanai looked over his two squads with concern. It wasn't much to work with, but he knew that he was going to have to make the most of what he had.

"Sir!" called on of the lookouts from higher up on Priderock. "I see them!"

Tanai looked out across the savannah in the direction that the lookout had pointed and watched as the Outlanders emerged from the brush. Zira led them with Shakra at her side. Behind them marched an entourage of nasty looking Outlanders, each with a host of battle scars, signifying combat experience. Tanai's stomach tightened as he estimated their numbers. From what he could see, Zira's forces outnumbered them almost three to one.

He roared to ready his fighters, and they roared back with determination. They knew, just as he did, that this was going to be a tough battle. They had everything to lose, and as it looked, the chances were _not_ in their favor. _This was it. This was when they would prove their worth at Pridelanders._

*****Author's Note*****

**How was that? I know that the last chapter was a little boring, but it was needed. I hope that this chapter satisfied your thirst for action, but the next should have even more. Keep watch for updates, both for "Turncoat" and for "Path of a Rogue Warrior."**

** PLEASE REVIEW AND COMMENT!**

**-Ben**


	16. Chapter 16: The Final Battle

*****Chapter 16*****

*****The Final Battle*****

"Are you ready Tanai?" a voice asked him from behind the determined lion.

_"Kiara?"_ he asked surprisedly. "What are you doing here? You should be hiding!"

The lioness just smiled. "No, Tanai. This is my family too; I'm not going to give it up without a fight."

"You could get _killed_!"

"So could you."

"I've been _trained_!"

Kiara chuckled a little despite the situation. "Your team had been teaching me a thing or two since we got back. Don't worry; I can take care of myself."

Tanai growled irritably, but knew that it was useless to argue with her. Once the stubborn lioness had an idea planted in her mind, it was _impossible_ to get her to back down. "Just stay close… and be _careful._"

"Right back at you."

Tanai nodded and turned back to the approaching Outlanders. It was an intimidating sight to say the least; they were outnumbered almost three to one against highly trained troops and their top leaders. Zira halted her fighters about fifteen yards from the Pridelanders' ranks that stood at the base of Priderock.

"I give you all credit," she began slowly. "I didn't expect any defense at all." She smiled. "Though… this isn't much better."

Tanai growled angrily. "Turn back Zira! We won't give you _anything!_"

Shakra smirked. "I don't think that _you_ are in a good enough situation to make demands, Tanai."

Zira nodded in agreement. "Here's _our_ offer. If you stand down, you and everyone else will be allowed to leave without conflict.

Tanai blinked. "_Everyone?"_

She grinned evilly. _"Almost_ everyone."

"I don't think so."

Shakra smiled, clearly pleased with the opportunity to attack them. "Then so _be_ it." He hissed before letting out a deafening roar.

His signal cued the right flank to charge full bore at the Pridelanders' ranks. They met with sharp thuds of lion-on-lion collisions and angry growls as the battle began. His next signal cued the other flank to charge onto their opposites and within a few moments, the battle was raging at full swing.

Tanai rushed the nearest Outlander and met him with a lightning fast rake across the face before he could even raise a paw to block. As the lion fell away in pain, Tanai leapt over him and met another in midair. They went rolling across the ground before Tanai managed to get the upper hand and pin the larger beast. A quick application or pressure to the lion's shoulder made a sharp popping sound and completely incapacitated him. Tanai was about to find a new attacker, but the attacker ended up finding him first. Before he even got his head up, a lioness tackled him to the ground and managed to rake him across the side. He was momentarily stunned, but Tanai was able to find his footing despite her aggressiveness. He was about to swipe her away, when a tan blur knocked the Outlander away. Tanai blinked in amazement as Kiara choked out the Outlander by pressing her paws into her neck.

She looked up at him with a grin. "I _told_ you that I've been learning."

"I could have handled it." He responded with a smirk. "But _thank_ you."

She was about to respond, but was cut short by another Outlander who rushed headlong into her. Kiara dropped to the ground and drove her hind legs into his stomach, throwing him away.

Tanai suddenly remembered the battle at hand, he couldn't get distracted. When he looked to the ranks, it seemed that the surrounding troops had everything under control, relatively speaking. They were outnumbered, but all things considered they were doing quite well here. He made quick eye contact with Vitani who was only a few paces away.

"Go check the flanks!" she told him urgently as she batted a small Outlander from her side. "We've got this taken care of here!"

Tanai nodded and ran up a nearby path to a higher vantage point. He scanned the battle site worriedly. Everything was holding well, even the flanks, but the Outlanders' ranks were _much_ deeper than theirs. It would only be a matter of time before they were exhausted, wounded, and discouraged. When that happened… they would lose.

He leapt from his perch and ran to the thinnest part of their defense. They were losing troops fast over here, and he needed to know why. It was clear as soon as he closed the distance, _Shakra_. The massive lion struck away the Pridelanders easily without much thought. He even seemed to be _enjoying_ it! Tanai roared and leapt into the fray, just in time to prevent a lioness from getting raked across her face. Shakra growled angrily as he and Tanai fell to the side from the collision and rolled to their feet.

"_Tanai!_" he exclaimed excitedly with a gleam in his eyes. "I was _hoping_ to find you!"

Before Tanai could respond to his arrogance, Shakra leapt out with both sets of claws outstretched. He dodged to the side, narrowly missing the talons. Shakra quickly struck out again in an attempt to claw his enemy away, but Tanai blocked the strike with his forearms. Before the Outlander could retract his force, Tanai slid his paw up his leg and raked his claws across Shakra's shoulder.

Tanai's initial satisfaction from landing the first blow was cut short when Shakra growled in pain and brought his back leg up into Tanai's chest. The force of the knee sent Tanai reeling backwards and across the floor in pain. With the wind knocked out of him, Tanai still managed to roll to the side to avoid a face-full of claws that descended onto the dirt he had just been laying on. He quickly got to his feet and circled around Shakra, trying to give himself a few moments to recover from the knee to his torso.

Shakra grinned as he realized that Tanai was hurting and sprinted towards him. Tanai saw his chance and sprinted towards his enemy as well. Shakra leapt into the air at the last moment, just as he thought Tanai would, but Tanai had something else in mind. Instead of leaping high and meeting the larger Outlander in mid-air, Tanai slid low across the ground. He completely avoided Shakra, and managed to rake his aggressive claws across the lion's exposed underbelly.

Shakra roared in agony and fell as soon as he touched down onto the ground. The pain was too much to allow him to worry about balance. He was bleeding profusely from multiple long gouges that ran down his stomach, and they showed no sign of clotting any time soon. He roared angrily at Tanai and tried to stand, but as soon as his paws were given any weight at all, they collapsed and sent him back to the ground.

"_KILL HIM!" _ he roared at the other soldiers that had gathered around to watch the fight.

Tanai glanced around with bared teeth, another emotional mask. In truth, he was nervous; there were simply too many enemies and not enough allies. If they all attacked at once, he would be overrun in a matter of seconds.

To his surprise, the Outlanders looked more frightened than he felt. They glanced back and forth from their mortally wounded leader and the lion that had just caused the wound. Suddenly, attacking Tanai didn't seem like that great of an idea. If he could kill _Shakra_, there was no telling what he would do to them. Sure their sheer numbers would probably lead them to victory, but who would be the first to lunge out? To do so was certain death. Ultimately, the Outlanders showed their true colors and backed off from the Pridelanders' ranks.

"_COWARDS_!" Shakra roared angrily. "COME BACK AND FIGHT!"

The soldiers just shook their heads in declination. They weren't stupid, they knew what would happen if they attacked.

"You mangy pieces of Zebra hide!" Shakra said with a little less intensity. "I'll skin all of… you." He was getting weaker. His breath came more and more ragged as the crowd watched. "Don't… don't think that I won't…" He turned to Tanai and started to laugh. It was an unsettling noise, one that Tanai hadn't heard before. "Well, Tanai…" he said softly. "I guess you win… Haheha… I didn't see _that_ one coming."

As everyone watched, the Outlander's eyes lost their focus and glazed over. His head and paws went limp, and his jaw fell into a pool of his own blood. The crowd was silent for a moment as the reality sunk in. _Shakra was dead. _The Outlanders' motivation died with him.

Tanai watched in amazement as the entire group of lions turned away and ran. Without their leader pushing them forwards, they were nothing more than a bunch of malnourished rogues. They were done, done with everything that Zira had offered them. The greatest offer in the world wasn't worth _dying_ over.

A grin broke over Tanai's face as he watched Shakra's group flee away from Priderock. Their places were taken up soon enough by the rest of Zira's force, but the accomplishment was still great. They had eliminated a large portion of her army without even _fighting_ them! The Pridelanders rushed towards the new Outlanders with a new sense of pride and enthusiasm. They met the new crowd with unprecedented aggressiveness and effectiveness.

Tanai wanted to join them, but he knew that he was needed elsewhere. This flank was secure, but the other probably wasn't. He raced back behind the lines and climbed atop his perch to overlook the battle again.

He was right. While he had been off supporting the left flank, their right was being overwhelmed. He growled angrily at himself for being so neglectful as he rushed towards the collapsing line. The first thing that he saw was Hatra and Mardok struggling against three larger Outlanders. Had the situation been less dire, Tanai would have liked to watch them for a while. Truly, they fought better together than by themselves. The two lions seemed to know exactly how the other would respond and they moved accordingly so that there was no wasted movement. In a matter of moments, they had defeated the first two attackers and moved to overwhelm the third through their joint effort.

Tanai decided quickly to let them be; they didn't need his help, he might even get in their way. Instead, he leapt into the more chaotic part of the fight. With any luck, maybe he would be able to focus the Pridelanders' efforts more directionally towards the Outlanders.

In a way, the extreme stress of combat was nicer than how Tanai had been feeling before. Every time he received a cut or a bruise from an Outlander, he just reminded himself that it was better than being holed up in Priderock with nothing to do. This is what he _did_, what he trained for, what he waited for, and ultimately who he was. Back in the heart of battle alongside his family, Tanai felt at home for the first time in weeks. Here in the chaos of combat, everyone could see him for who he truly was: a _Pridelander._ A Quick glance to his side revealed that his team was experiencing the same thing. Fila and Tint fought alongside other lions and lionesses without prejudice or strife. When you have to trust your life to the soldier next to you, a special bond is made. Some say that the bond of soldiers in stronger than even that of a mated pair. It is a trust forged in hell and tempered by conflict. Unfortunately, combat is a two edged sword. While it builds the strongest bonds in the world, it also has the ability to break them. The fact of war is that there is death, and there is no way to sugarcoat it. Each dead soldier, to some is a statistic. To those who understand what fallen soldier meant to their brothers in arms, they are more. Tanai understood the value of his soldiers, and it broke his heart to see so many of his friends' broken bodies. Not all were dead, but there were many. Amid the still-raging battle lied many bodies, both Pridelander and Outlander alike.

The ranks on both sides were thinning from the heavy casualties. The way things were going, Tanai couldn't see how they would be able to even the odds before they collapsed. He looked out to the horizon in search of Simba and the rest of the Unit, but they were nowhere to be seen. There was no sense in wishing for the impossible, so Tanai returned his sights on the battle at hand. He needed something _drastic_ to turn the tide. If he didn't, everyone in Priderock would die.

Towards the center of the battlefield, Tanai's eyes locked onto an idea. Zira stood there, directing troops and occasionally fighting a Pridelander or two. It was a stretch, but if Tanai could get rid of her, maybe the rest of the Outlanders would be discouraged enough to give the Pridelanders the opportunity that they needed to win.

He was about to start off towards the lioness when something else caught his eye. _Vitani_. The wounded lioness was dragged before her mother by an Outlander. She wasn't badly wounded, but she certainly wasn't okay either. Whatever was going on, Tanai needed to get there and _fast_!

He practically flew through the ranks towards the center where Zira was. He almost ran right past Hatra and Mardok, but managed to get their attention.

"Come on!" he yelled urgently. "Vitani is in trouble!"

Hatra immediately got off the lion that he was choking and fell into place alongside them as they ran through the crowd of combatants. Every so often, one of them would have to stop and deal with a threat, but nonetheless they made decent timing.

Tanai burst from the crowd just in time to see Zira's paw descending towards Vitani's helpless body. She looked worse than when he had seen her before; Zira must have been _punishing_ the traitor.

Zira's unsheathed claws seemed to move in slow motion as they moved towards Vitani. There wasn't a second's hesitation in Tanai's mind; he never stopped running. Somehow, despite his distance from the two, he closed the proximity with remarkable speed. At the last possible moment, he managed to tackle the evil lioness away. They rolled on the ground for several moments before Tanai felt a sharp shove that separated them.

He stood up and turned to face Zira. His enemy. It was _her_ fault that all of this happened. _She _ killed Kopa, _she _hurt his friends and family, _she _murdered his father! Tanai felt nothing but hate for her, and he wasn't afraid to let it show. He roared furiously at her, but she only smirked.

"Good to see you again, Tanai." She hissed softly as her grin widened.

Her smugness confused him, and he looked to his friends. Mardok was checking on Vitani, while Hatra was standing defensively against the surrounding Outlanders. Suddenly, Tint and Fila burst from the crowd and secured the perimeter around their friend. Fila looked to Tanai, and a look of shock crossed her face.

"Tanai…" she said softly.

He blinked confusedly. "What?"

Fila just pointed at him, at a loss for words.

Tanai shook his head, then looked down. It wasn't pretty. Deep gouges spanned the length of his chest, from his left collarbone all the way down to his right ribs. Blood was pouring out of the open wound, pulsing in synchronism with his heart beat. He could see bone and muscle through the purplish life-fluid, but it all seemed just unreal. He hadn't felt a _thing_! It must have happened when he had been rolling around on the ground with Zira. The sudden realization of his injury hit him like a brick wall. Tanai fought nausea and panic as he stared at the wound in shock. It was bad… _very_ bad.

Zira examined her bloody claws with mock boredom. "Ready for more?"

Tanai just stared at her blankly. _She won…_ it was over. His front leg collapsed and he fell to his knees. Everything… everything she had done to him… and now she would _win_. His breathing became more ragged. Suddenly his mind flashed back to Shakra's final moments. How he had become weaker and his breathing more ragged. Tanai felt his eyes lose their focus, and he knew what was coming.

_He couldn't!_ Tanai blinked his eyes back into focus and looked up at Zira with fresh anger. Death may have been inevitable at that point, but Tanai refused to allow it to stop him. With increasing strain, he managed to rise back to his feet and pull himself out of the pool of his blood.

"_Yea…_" he finally responded to Zira. "I'm ready for _more!_"

The lioness frowned at him, clearly disappointed in his survival, then lunged forward with her claws extended.

Tanai knew that he didn't stand a chance in his condition, but it was the principal of the thing. He would fight Zira with his dying breath, out of respect and love for everyone she had killed before. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his team fighting several Outlanders away from Vitani. There was no way that they would be able to save him, he was on his own.

He managed to block her first strike and then dodge her second, but the third caught him square in the jaw. He collapsed again; but this time he doubted his ability to recover. Tanai looked up at Zira who came to stand over him. She leaned in close to his ear.

"_Just. Like. Kopa."_

Sudden fury consumed Tanai at the mention of his dear friend. He had been too weak to save him _then_, just as he had been too weak to save his father. He looked into Zira's smug eyes for a moment and for a moment, everything was frozen. It was the _end_, and he _knew_ it... For _both_ of them.

With his last ounce of energy, Tanai lashed out at the conniving lioness that had ruined so many lives. He lashed out for Kopa, for his father, for Vitani, for Simba, for Kiara, for his team, for _himself_. He felt his claws make contact with her flesh, but neither of them blinked as they stared into each other's eyes. Both of them knew what had happened, and Zira seemed to just stare in amazement. _She hadn't thought that he would be able to move that fast…_ but he _had_. Tanai watched as blood soaked through the fur on her neck and began to drip to the floor. It mixed with the pool of his own blood as she and she began to stagger back and forth. The gash that opened her neck was deep, as was it quick. Zira let out an unflattering final gurgle before she finally collapsed to the ground as a lifeless corpse.

After he stopped staring at Zira, Tanai looked down at his own wounds. They were just as deadly as hers; he was sure, just slower acting. Things were beginning to lose focus again, this time with a dark haze on the periphery of his vision. He stole a Final glance at his team, to see them fighting off the last of the nearby Outlanders. Suddenly a tan blur materialized before him.

"_Kiara?"_ he whispered slowly.

"Tanai!" she cried as she bent down to lick his cheek. "You're going to be okay! Just hang on!"

He smiled. "I _love_ you…"

A deafening roar split the air as the darkness set in. Tanai was vaguely aware of a large red-maned lion that stood over him. _Simba_. If he was here, then so was the rest of the Unit. A wide grin spread across his face as he realized his success. Zira was dead and his family was safe. He had done his duty well.

Kiara said something inaudible to her father with urgency and Simba looked equally concerned. _They didn't understand_… Tanai put a paw on her shoulder despite his sudden exhaustion. She looked down at him, desperate to hear what he had to say.

Tanai just licked her cheek affectionately_. "It's okay… everything's okay"_ he whispered quietly. Kiara's face calmed slightly and she placed her head against his. A tear of grief slid down her cheek and found its way onto Tanai's face. She didn't want him to go, but he had to. The darkness was too much at that point. Her image faded away into the fog that enveloped him. _It was finally over_.

*****Author's Note*****

**Originally I wasn't going to end it like this, but his is _waaay_ better than my first idea. Like I said before, they aren't _all_ happy endings, though I would consider this to be pretty positive despite the obvious bummer. I hope you all enjoyed this, I had a ton of fun writing for you, (as always.) If you haven't already, please check out my next story, "_Path of a Rogue Warrior" _You can expect an update with that one very soon.  
COMMENT AND REVIEW!**

**-Ben**


	17. Epilogue

God it was bright… it was just excruciating. All he wanted to do was to roll over and sleep, but for some reason, he couldn't find the energy. It was _sooo_ bright! He slowly opened his eyes in an attempt to see the source of the light. Instantly he was blinded and he shut them quickly.

"Haha! You is awake?" a bubbly voice asked.

"W-what?" Tanai grumbled as he tried again to shift out way of the light.

A dark figure suddenly blocked the light, and his eyes began to adjust to his surroundings.

"Sorry about dat, I always forget dat de sun shines through during dis time of day."

"Rafiki?" he asked slowly as he made out the Shaman's figure.

"Sure is… do you know who _you_ are?"

Tanai sighed. He was in a lot of pain and in no mood for the monkey's games. "I'm Tanai…"

_"WRONG!_" His sudden yelling startled the lion. "You are a _STOOPID_ lion dat almost got yourself killed!"

"W-what?" he stuttered confusedly as he looked around. He was in the infirmary cave at Priderock. Except for some sleeping soldiers not too far away, he was alone. A quick glance at his chest reminded him of the wound he had received. It looked much better than it had before; it had sealed shut and was healing well. To be honest, it seemed to be healing _too_ well for just a couple days.

"I can't help that I got ripped open, Rafiki… that's part of war."

The mandrill threw his arms up in the air. "Not _dat!_ You almost let yourself die!"

"I got _ripped_ open." He said slowly. "I'm surprised that I _didn't _die!"

"Nononono…." Rafiki said with a sigh. "You are worse dan de baby soldiers coming in wit de little cuts and throwing up when de see dere own _blood_."

Tanai was getting more and more confused by the moment. "What are you _talking _about?"

"YOU WERE IN SHOCK!" Rafiki yelled. "De wound was _not_ dat bad, you just _freaked _out like a little spastic lemur!"

He blinked as the statement sunk in. "Yea… I was in shock, but I thought that it was because I was _dying_."

Rafiki sighed again and covered his face with his hand. "You can lose _a lot_ of blood and still be just fine. I would have _hoped_ dat _you_ of all people would know dat!"

Tanai sat back against his stone bed to think for a moment. He had truly thought that he was going to die… it felt weird to think that he wasn't now.

"Rafiki?" came a voice towards the mouth of the cave. "Tanai!"

He looked up to see Kiara rushing towards him. Rafiki just shook his head in disgust.

"Yes, yes, go to de stoopid lion and tell him dat he isn't stoopid."

Kiara blinked in surprise. "Tanai isn't _stupid…_"

"He is vedy stoopid! Make sure dat he doesn't forget to breathe… He's _stoopid_!"

Kiara just stared at the mandrill for a moment while Tanai chuckled quietly to himself. "Um… Okay I guess. Thanks, Rafiki."

"Yea, yea…" he said over his shoulder as he began to tend to another lion.

Kiara looked back at him. "So… yea! Glad to see you awake!"

Tanai nodded. "How long was I out?"

"Rafiki kept you under for a week and a half."

"_WHAT?_" He shouted. "A _week_ and a _half_? How is that even possible?"

Kiara giggled at his surprise. "He's got all sorts of herbs and things that he used to keep you unconscious. He thought it would be easier to keep you from messing with your injury if you were asleep."

Tanai nodded and unconsciously itched at the bandages that Rafiki had applied. "Yea… this is _really_ annoying…" He looked at her for a moment, unsure what to say next. "Hows, uh… hows everything?"

Kiara smiled. "Daddy got back right as you killed Zira, and from there it was pretty easy to get rid of everyone else. The rest of the Outlanders left towards the eastern border, and haven't been seen since. They aren't even in the Outlands… they're _gone_."

"Gone?" Tanai repeated to himself quietly. "What about Vitani?"

She shrugged. "She was a little banged up, but she's fine now…" the lioness looked away for a moment before returning her gaze to Tanai. "How do you feel?"

Tanai moved around a little to find out the answer to the question for himself. "Pretty good actually… aside from the whole chest- thing, I'm good."

Kiara nodded. "Good… then I don't feel bad for doing this."

Tanai blinked. "Doing wha-" '_WHAP_'

Tanai was stunned at the blow that had crossed his face. "What was _that?"_ he demanded.

"You made me think that you were going to _die!_ You were _fine_, but you just _gave up _to the shock!"

He grinned and shook off the light strike. "Sorry, I _honestly_ thought that I was going to _die."_

Kiara sighed and leaned into him. "I told you to be careful… don't _do_ stuff like that!"

"It's a part of war."

"I know… but still, it was stupid."

"I thought you said that I _wasn't_ stupid."

Kiara grinned. "You have your moments."

Tanai leaned out and licked her cheek. "I'm glad that you're okay." He whispered.

She smiled back at him. "Do you… uh… want to go for a walk or something?"

"Will Rafiki have a fit?"

"Probably."

"Is he looking?"

Kiara glanced over his shoulder towards the back of the cave. "No, his back is turned."

"Then let's _go!_" he whispered.

She grinned and helped the wounded lion to his feet. Once Tanai had balanced himself, they sluck silently out the mouth of the cave, hardly suppressing their laughter. The cool morning air felt great compared to the stuffy, medical- smelling cave of dirty, wounded soldiers. Tanai didn't find it easy to walk at first, his bearings were a little off, but after a while he was doing alright.

The pair walked around Priderock at a rather slow pace so as not to irritate Tanai's injuries too much. They passed many pride members despite sticking to lesser used paths. Tanai was quite surprised to receive countless greetings and encouraging expressions as they went.

Kiara seemed to notice as well. "You've kind of become something of a celebrity around here if you haven't noticed."

"I guess…" he replied neutrally, not really sure how he felt about it. "Why though?"

She shrugged. "I think it was a lot of things actually. "I mean yea, you led the last defense of Priderock and saved everyone, but you also killed Zira and Shakra."

"I was just doing what I had to do…"

Kiara laughed, surprising Tanai. "The reason that everyone is so enthralled with you, Tanai, is that you did _so_ much _more_ than what you had to do."

I'm a soldier, fighting is what I do."

"When you came back from the Outlands…" Kiara began slowly. "No one really knew who you were anymore. Everyone was afraid that you were going to turn again."

Tanai nodded. She was right of course; he had seen it in all of their eyes.

"You proved yourself… to everyone."

"I hope that Vitani and the others proved themselves as well… they don't exactly have the background that I did to support them."

She laughed a little, making Tanai look at her quizzically. "What?" he asked.

"See for yourself." She said smugly as she gestured farther up the path they were walking on.

Up ahead sat a group of Pridelanders discussing some event of the day before. Among them sat Hatra, Tint, Mardok, Vitani, and Fila. Whatever they were talking about, the former Outlanders certainly seemed to be accepted into the group. Hatra added something onto the story that another was telling, and everyone laughed at his comment.

It brought a smile to Tanai's face to see that they were all okay and successfully integrating into the Pride.

"Do you want to go say hi?" Kiara asked him as she eyed his grin.

He shook his head. "I think they're fine… besides, they would probab-"

"TANAI!" the crowd suddenly rose and rushed over to him.

He groaned inwardly as he was quickly surrounded by the lions. It wasn't that he didn't _want_ to see them, but he disliked reunions.

"We were wondering when you were going to come around." Hatra remarked.

"You still look pretty beat up…" Fila added.

Vitani nodded in agreement. "Rafiki let you out if the cave?"

Tanai and Kiara exchanged glances for a moment. "Um…" he started. "He didn't _not_ let me leave."

Mardok grinned. "You left without telling him, didn't you?"

Kiara giggled. "Yea…"

Vitani snorted irritably. "_I_ tried to do the same thing, but he always _caught _me! How did _you _manage to get away?"

Tanai shrugged. "We just sort of… left."

"Figures…" she muttered enviously. "By the way… I meant to thank you." She added with a lighter expression.

"For what?"

"For stopping my mother from killing me! What else?"

He blinked, momentarily stunned. He had completely forgotten about the reason he had fought Zira in the first place. "Oh yea… no problem."

"I'm just glad that you showed up when you did. She _was_ going to kill me."

Tint grinned. "Good ole' motherly love, huh?"

Vitani shrugged. "It is what it is."

The reunited team talked for a while on the side of Priderock, but soon they had to leave. Without the threat of the Outlanders looming on the horizon, many of the soldiers had joined the hunting parties. Today was their first time going out. Once they had said their goodbyes and the former Outlanders had descended the paths to the base of the great rock, the sun was high in the sky.

"Kiara!" called a voice from afar.

The lioness groaned. "That would be my mom…" she said irritably. "Can you find your way back to the cave?"

Tanai smiled. "Yea, I _did_ kind of grow up here you know."

"I know, but you're hurt."

"I'm _fine_." He said as he licked her cheek affectionately. "I'll see you later."

"Love ya." She whispered.

"I love you too." He said in an equally quiet tone.

The lioness smiled at him and the two locked eyes for a moment before she turned away and heading down towards where Nala was waiting patiently.

Tanai watched her leave, thinking about the situation he was in. He loved her, and she loved him, but it was more complicated than that. Simba had always been very protective over his daughter, and he would _flip_ if he knew what was going on. To be perfectly honest with himself, Tanai would have rather fought Zira again than tell Simba the truth. He knew that the king wouldn't like it.

"Enjoying the view, Tanai?" a deep voice asked from behind.

_Speaking of the devil._ "Hello, Simba." Tanai greeted politely.

The golden lion came to sit beside him and looked across the brightly lit savannah. "I trust that you are healing well?"

Tanai nodded. "This was the first day that I've been _awake_ since the battle, so it's been kind of overwhelming, but yea I'm fine."

Simba smiled. "So you're thinking clearly and otherwise alright?"

"Yea, I'm fine." He repeated.

They sat there in silence for a while before Simba spoke again. "Maybe you could answer a question for me, Tanai?"

"What is it, Sir?"

"How long were you going to wait before telling me that you and Kiara were getting back together?"

Tanai turned his head to look sharply at Simba in horror. _He knew!_ "I- uh… Well, you see…"

Simba waited patiently for him to stop stuttering.

Eventually the younger lion just sighed and hung his head. "How long have you known?"

"Since you got back from the Outlands."

Tanai blinked in surprise. "That _long?_"

The king chuckled. "You didn't think that I was _that_ disconnected of a father, did you?"

He shrugged. "You had a lot on your plate at the time. I didn't think that you knew…"

"You also didn't _want_ me to know."

"I-I knew that you would be upset … I'm sorry."

"Do I look upset?"

"Aren't you?"

"Only because I had to figure it out for myself."

Tanai blinked in surprise for what seemed like the tenth time that day. "You don't _care_ that we're together?"

"Of course I care, I'm thrilled!" Simba exclaimed happily. "You are already kind of my adoptive son, Tanai. I like the idea of you being my Son-in-law as well."

He didn't know what to say; this was _not_ the response he had expected from Simba, and it completely threw him off. "I-I don't know what to say…" he said quietly.

"You can promise me something."

"Anything."

A sudden and unexpected darkness fell across Simba's face. "_No cubs._" He said dangerously. "Not yet."

Though didn't like the sudden aggressiveness, Tanai was glad to see _some_ of the over-protective father that he had initially expected. "Of course." He replied as he looked back across the savannah.

Suddenly, Tanai felt strangely; he had been given the 'okay' by Simba to be with Kiara. Suddenly, he felt somewhat empty inside. For the first time in years, he felt no stress at all. The Outlanders were gone, Zira was dead, he was with Kiara, he had met his father, he was at peace with Kopa's death, and _everything was alright_.

"Simba?" he asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"What do we do now?"

"What do you mean?"

Tanai shrugged. "We _won…_ Now that it's all over, what do we do _now_?"

Simba chuckled. "I know what you mean; for so long we have been at war and now that it's all over, something seems to be missing."

"Yea… so what do we do?"

Simba smiled. "We _live_." He stated simply. "Life is more than war, revenge, and challenges. Sometimes it's just _us._"

"Us?"

"All of us. You, me, Kiara, your friends, the Pride."

Tanai nodded as he understood. "Well then… I guess we should start _living_."

Simba grinned and put a paw around his adoptive son, soon to be son-in-law's shoulder. "I'm glad that you made it through, Tanai. You mean a lot to a lot of people."

"I'm glad that I made it through too… thanks for getting me to Rafiki."

"Thank _you_ for saving our family. We owe you more than you know."

"I'm just glad to be here." Tanai replied with a grin.

"And we are glad to have you."

*****Final Author's Note*****

**A strange thing happened with the last chapter. I was writing the battle scene, Tanai's fighting Shakra, fighting others, fighting Zira, and then the story kind of took on a life of its own. Those of you who write, maybe you will understand what I mean. The momentum built up, and afterwards I realized, **_**"HOLY SH*T! I JUST KILLED TANAI!" **_**It was honestly as much of a surprise to me as it was to you, and it took a while for it really to sink in. I looked back on how I did it, and I simply wasn't satisfied with how it ended. It seemed just too quick and inconclusive. So, I decided to continue the story and give it the ending that it deserved. I hope that you like this one better.**

**Reviews are always appreciated.**

**-Ben**


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